The news of the loss of Highland 252.2 was quickly reported to Rotmistrov at all levels. The general, who wore round glasses and a toothbrush beard and looked like a rural teacher, suddenly frowned. He asked the Guards Commander who reported the situation: "Comrade Commander, as far as I know, the defenses on height 252.2 are the most complete outside Prokhorovka. Why were they destroyed by the Germans after just a few hours?" Occupied?"
"Comrade Commander," the commander replied with a tearful face: "According to our prior analysis, the best terrain for attack should be the narrow area southwest of Prokhorovka. This area forms a good channel for tanks. , which is very conducive to the German army deploying large-scale armored forces. Therefore, our defense focus is mainly placed in this direction. Unexpectedly, the Flag Guard Division and the Skeleton Division coming from the west actually used the 252.2 Heights as the first breakthrough point .”
"Comrade Commander, the order I am giving you now is to concentrate all the troops you can and launch a counterattack on Highland 252.2, and be sure to take it back from the Germans." Rotmistrov was deeply afraid. The commander of the Guards ignored his own proposal and emphasized specifically: "Whether we can recapture the 252.2 heights is the key to us repelling the enemy."
When Rotmistrov put down the phone, he saw a group of people walking into the command post. He couldn't help but frown slightly, thinking who could be so ignorant that he would cause trouble for him at such a time. Just when he was about to step forward to scold the opponent, he saw Vasilevsky from the crowd. He quickly stepped forward and saluted: "Hello, Comrade Marshal."
"Hello, General Rotmistrov." Vasilevskiy held Rotmistrov's hand and said with a smile: "I came here specially to see you. I hope there is no It affects your work.”
"No, no," with the efforts of the chief of staff and a group of headquarters members, even if Rotmistrov is not in the headquarters, it will not affect the unit's operations. Hearing Vasilevsky's polite words at this moment, he quickly said: "Even if I am not in the headquarters, the chief of staff can handle everything."
"Since you have nothing to do, can you go for a walk with me?" Vasilevsky asked politely: "I want to know about the war on the frontier."
"Comrade Marshal, this is not easy." When he learned that Vasilevsky planned to go to the front to have a look, Rotmistrov was suddenly startled into a cold sweat. He quickly persuaded: "Now the battle is in Prolo The fighting started outside the Horovka. If you go to inspect at this time, you may be in danger."
"Comrade General, I know that the enemy from the west is attacking Highland 252.2." Vasilevsky said: "I just want to see the fighting there with my own eyes to determine whether our upcoming counterattack can achieve the desired results. results."
"Comrade Marshal," Rotmistrov had an embarrassed expression on his face after hearing Vasilevskiy mention 252.2 Hill: "Half an hour ago, the German Flag Guard Division had occupied 252.2 Hill... …”
"What, 252.2 Heights was lost?" Vasilevskiy did not expect that when he left Vatutin's headquarters, he would get the news that the defenders had repelled more than a dozen German attacks. He originally wanted to come to the Guards Tank Division. After arriving at the headquarters of the 5th Army, Rotmistrov personally praised this tenacious unit. But he didn't expect that the troops he saw actually lost their position. A trace of anger appeared on his face: "What about the defenders on the high ground? Have they all withdrawn?"
"No," said Rotmistrov, shaking his head. "Not a single one has been withdrawn."
"Not one of them was withdrawn?" Vasilevsky asked in surprise: "Did they all become prisoners of the Germans?"
"No, Comrade Marshal, none of them were taken as prisoners." Rotmistrov couldn't help but feel a little angry when he saw Vasilevsky doubting his subordinates. He raised his voice and said: "According to the observations of the rear observation post, They detonated the explosives buried in the trenches when the enemy rushed into the position, and died together with the enemy who rushed up."
After listening to Rotmistrov's story, Vasilevskiy was silent for a long time, and finally nodded slowly and said: "They acted very bravely. In order to prevent their sacrifices from being in vain, I think we should carry out the attack on Highland 252.2." Counterattack and regain the position from the Germans."
"Comrade Marshal, my troops are already doing this." Rotmistrov replied: "The 26th and 28th Airborne Regiments are gathering to prepare to regain their positions from the enemy."
"Comrade General, now that your troops are preparing to launch a counterattack, I think it is more necessary for us to go to the front line to have a look." Vasilevsky urged Rotmistrov and said: "Turn over the work here to the Chief of Staff. , you come to the front with me."
Seeing that Vasilevsky had made up his mind, Rotmistrov could no longer refute, so he could only hand over the work of the headquarters to the chief of staff, and then led a guard platoon, plus Vasilev The guards brought by Ski were divided into three jeeps and two trucks and headed towards the area where the fighting was taking place.
As the convoy was driving on the road, Vasilevsky saw a convoy full of fuel and ammunition driving on the right, and an oncoming ambulance convoy full of wounded people on the left. Seeing this situation, Vasilevsky said with emotion: "Comrade General, it seems that the battle ahead is very fierce, and so many wounded people have been transported down."
After driving forward for a while, Rotmistrov saw that the road ahead was covered with large and small craters, and destroyed trucks and other vehicles could be seen everywhere, so he said to Vasilevsky: "Comrade Marshal, if we continue to drive forward along the road, we will easily become the target of the German Air Force. Why don't we change the road?"
"Okay." Vasilevsky had no objection to Rotmistrov's proposal: "You are familiar with this place, so it's up to you."
Soon, the convoy changed direction, passing through a mature wheat field and heading towards the forest in the distance.
When the convoy entered the forest, Rotmistrov suddenly felt much more at ease. With the cover of the trees, even if a German plane appeared in the sky at this time, he did not have to worry about being attacked by an air attack. He introduced the situation to Vasilevsky with great interest: "To the north of the forest is the offensive starting position of the 29th Tank Army, and on their right wing is the 18th Tank Army..."
While listening to Rotmistrov's report, Vasilevsky observed the situation outside through the car window. Based on the smoke rising in the distance, he knew that this place was only a mere distance away from the area where the fighting took place. Two or three kilometers away.
At this moment, he heard the roar of a tank engine from near to far, and quickly ordered the driver: "Stop!" As soon as the car stopped, he immediately opened the door and jumped out. Rotmistrov did not know What happened? He quickly opened the door on the other side and got out of the car, looking at Vasilevsky in surprise.
The convoy was at the edge of the forest and could see what was happening outside. I saw Vasilevsky walking to the roadside, raising the telescope in his hand, and carefully observing the situation outside. After watching for a long time, he put down the telescope, turned around and got angry at Rotmistrov: "Comrade General, what's going on with these tanks?"
Seeing Rotmistrov's confused look, Vasilevsky said to himself: "Comrade Vatutin has not greeted you before. Before the counterattack begins, the enemy must not let Do you know that a large number of our tanks have already entered the attack position? But you are lucky, so many tanks are actually marching arrogantly in broad daylight, under the eyes of the enemy. Do you think the enemy is blind or deaf? "
Rotmistrov quickly took the telescope from Vasilevsky's hand and looked at the tank group operating outside the forest. He quickly saw clearly that these tanks, which stopped and fired from time to time while driving, were basically equipped with short-barreled artillery. It only took a few seconds for him to understand in his heart that what was appearing in front of him at this moment The tanks are not their own tank army at all, but the enemy's tanks.
He quickly turned back and reported to Vasilevsky: "Comrade Marshal, I feel it is necessary to explain to you that the tanks you see are all German..."
"What, a German tank?" Vasilevsky heard what Rotmistrov said and quickly snatched the telescope from his hand and observed it carefully again. There is still a big difference between the tanks of the Soviet Union and Germany. Not long ago, Vasilevsky was so excited that he did not see the models of the tanks clearly. Now when he saw clearly that they were German Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks, his expression changed. De was livid: "Comrade General, it seems that the situation is not good. If enemy tanks appear here, it means that the starting position where you ordered the attack has been occupied by the Germans."
"Yes, Comrade Marshal, the current battlefield situation seems to be worse than we expected." Rotmistrov said to Vasilevsky: "I think it is necessary to formulate a new attack plan."
After listening to Rotmistrov's words, Vasilevsky only thought about it for more than ten seconds before announcing without hesitation: "Let's go back to your headquarters and make new plans to prevent the situation from going south." It is developing in an uncontrollable direction.”
After the two returned to the headquarters, Vasilevsky immediately called Vatutin through a dedicated line. Rotmistrov called his chief of staff in front of him, pointed at the map and told him: "Comrade chief of staff, we found a large number of German tanks here, probably more than fifty."
The chief of staff only glanced at the map and immediately showed an expression of astonishment: "Comrade Commander, all the offensive starting positions we set in advance have been occupied by the Germans. What should we do?"
"In order to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, we must take corresponding measures." Rotmistrov gave an order to the chief of staff: "You immediately call General Kirichenko and ask him to send two tank brigades to fight. These penetrated the German tanks deep into our defense zone and prevented them from continuing to advance deeper into our defenses."
After Vasilevsky and Vatutin got on the phone, they said to Rotmistrov with a serious expression: "Comrade General, the 1st Tank Army, which was originally scheduled to launch a counterattack with you tomorrow, has now been defeated by the German 3rd Tank Army. The 48th Armored Corps is entangled and cannot reach the specified starting point for the attack within the specified time. This means that the attack on the German army tomorrow can only be completed by your 5th Guards Tank Army alone."
What Vasilevsky said was already expected by Rotmistrov, so he did not show any excitement. After he waited for Vasilevsky to finish speaking, he immediately expressed his opinion: "Comrade Marshal, since the German army has occupied our offensive starting position, we have to readjust the offensive deployment, especially the pre-selected artillery. The position and offensive line must all be adjusted.”
While Vasilevsky and Rotmistrov were discussing how to change the deployment, Vatutin, who had just put down the phone, said bitterly to Zhukov sitting next to him: "Comrade Marshal, this is really strange. It stands to reason that it was Sokov's troops that blocked the Flag Guard Division and the Skeleton Division. It would take at least two or three days for the enemy to break through their defense lines. How could they rush to Prokho from the west in such a short period of time? What about outside Lovka? I think there might be something wrong with it."
"Is there a problem?" Zhukov raised his eyebrows and asked warily: "What's the problem?"
Vatutin thought about the friendship between Sokov and Zhukov and knew that if he analyzed the reasons, he would definitely offend someone, so he couldn't help but hesitate. The deputy commander Apanashenko sitting next to him said without hesitation: "Needless to say, it must be Sokov's troops that made way for the Germans. Otherwise, how could the enemy attack in such a short period of time?" How about reaching the outside of Prokhorovka within a short period of time?”
Although Apanashenko said his true thoughts, Vatutin deliberately blamed Zhukov in front of him and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, you can't say that. I believe that in the face of the ferocity of the Germans During the attack, General Sokov's troops should have put up a tenacious resistance, but due to insufficient strength to hold the entire position, the enemy opened a gap in the defense line. The German troops who broke through the defense line were able to advance straight in and rushed directly to Prokho. Outside Lovka.”
Zhukov did not think that Sokov would open the passage for the Germans at all, but the speed of the Flag Guard Division and the Skeleton Division towards the city of Prokhorovka was too fast. So fast that even the paratroopers defending the city had no time to further consolidate their positions. In order to find out what was going on, he called the director of the communications corps and told the other party: "Comrade director, please put me through Sokov's headquarters. I have important matters to see him."
Fortunately, the director of the Communications Corps knew that Sokov was currently staying at the headquarters of the 188th Division, so he did not contact the 27th Army Headquarters, but directly contacted the headquarters of the 188th Division. When someone answered the phone, the director of the communications corps said politely: "I am the director of the communications corps of the Voronezh Front Army Headquarters. Comrade Marshal has important matters and he wants to talk to General Sokov."
After a moment, Sokov's voice came from the receiver: "I am Major General Sokov."
"General Sokov, please wait a moment." Hearing Sokov's voice, the director of the communications corps quickly said politely: "I will ask Comrade Marshal to speak to you immediately."
