Sokov called Samyko in front of Trufanov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, this is Sokov. I will tell you something now. Let General Polubyarov know immediately. The tank corps is ready for battle. They have rested long enough and now it is their turn to fight."
Sameko, with the main force of the army group, has been sitting on the bank of the Pushor River doing nothing, and he still feels very uncomfortable. At this moment, when he heard Sokov giving him a combat order, he immediately asked excitedly: "Comrade Commander, so to speak, the time for a decisive battle with the Germans has finally arrived."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov was startled by Samyko's words. Even though he was commanding a group army now, it was extremely short of tanks and artillery. He had fought against a small German armored force and was barely able to make do. . If we really want to take the initiative to attack, it will be like hitting an egg with an egg. In order to prevent his chief of staff from being too arrogant and unrealistically confronting the enemy head-on, Sokov quickly reminded him: "With our current strength, we do not yet have the ability to decisively fight the main force of the German army. The task I gave the tank army , which is to block the area from the Pushor River to the 188th Division to prevent German tanks from escaping in organized formation."
Samyko felt that Sokov's statement was a bit contradictory. First, he told himself that the current strength of the troops was not able to compete with the large-scale German armored forces; but then he ordered the tank army to attack and eliminate the organized German armored forces. force. He asked in confusion: "Comrade Commander, didn't you say that our troops lack artillery and tanks and cannot go head-to-head with the large-scale German armored forces? Then why do you want Polubyarov's tank army to destroy them? Where is the enemy’s organic armored force?”
Sokov realized that he had not spoken clearly, which caused Samyko to misunderstand what he meant, so he explained: "Yes, our strength is indeed not enough to confront the powerful German armored forces. But in today's battle , friendly forces will dispatch a large number of tanks to engage in a decisive battle with the enemy's armored forces. What Polubyarov's tank army intercepted was nothing more than defeated German armored forces. I believe they will be able to destroy the enemy."
"I understand, Comrade Commander." After listening to Sokov's explanation, Sameko understood his intention and quickly asked for instructions: "I wonder when to let them attack?"
"I think it will have to wait until after three o'clock in the afternoon at the earliest." Sokov said into the microphone: "Chief of Staff, remember to remind General Polubyarov that the enemy is equipped with many Tiger and Panther tanks. They are all the enemies of the T-34 tanks. If you encounter these tanks, don’t just hit them hard, use your brain more and think of ways to destroy the enemy tanks. Do you understand?”
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Samyko quickly replied: "I will truthfully convey your words to General Polubyarov and ask him to be more vigilant."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, it is unrealistic to rely solely on the tank corps to defeat the enemy. The infantry must also cooperate." Sokov continued to remind Sameko: "Let the infantry build fortifications in some important areas to assist the tank corps. Block the enemy's retreat."
"Comrade Commander, what about you?" Samek asked cautiously: "Will you assist the tank army to destroy the enemy?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, we have other tasks." Sokov continued: "We still have two German armored divisions in front of us. If they learn that the German troops attacking Prokhorovka have been attacked by us, After the German army's counterattack, they will definitely attack our defense area desperately so that they can rush over to join the retreating enemy. Therefore, our task is to do everything possible to block the German attack and prevent the enemies in the two places from joining together."
Trufanov waited for Sokov to put down the phone and expressed his opinion: "General Sokov, are you not optimistic about our upcoming attack?"
Sokov was stunned, and then asked: "Comrade Deputy Commander, why do you say that?"
"I heard that the attack time you arranged for the tank army is after three o'clock in the afternoon." Trufanov said with some dissatisfaction: "You know, not counting the 100 tanks I brought, just in Proholo Our army can mobilize more than 400 tanks outside the city of Fka, while the enemy only has more than a hundred tanks. The comparison of the technical equipment of the two sides is 3:1. Our army has such an obvious advantage, does it take five hours? , can we crush the enemy’s resistance?”
Only then did Sokov understand what Trufanov meant, and quickly defended: "Comrade Deputy Commander, you are right, the number of tanks in our army is several times that of the enemy. But you have forgotten that in the tank corps There are many outdated T-70 tanks in it. Not to mention the German Tiger or Panther tanks, even the Panzer IV tanks cannot defeat them.
According to the intelligence I have, the enemy has occupied the starting position of your group army's planned offensive, forcing your tanks to pass through an unobstructed open area before they can engage in confrontation with the German tanks. When your tanks pass through this open area, they are bound to be attacked by Tiger tanks equipped with 88mm guns. At such a long distance, the 76mm gun equipped with the T-34 tank poses no threat to enemy tanks at all. "
As the deputy commander of the Tank Army, Trufanov naturally knew that the offensive starting position was occupied by the Germans, and there were a large number of outdated T-70s in the Tank Army. This is also an irrefutable fact. He was silent for a long time and asked tentatively: "General Sokov, tell me, will the counterattack we launched outside Prokhorovka today be successful?"
"Comrade Deputy Commander, there is no doubt whether we can win." Sokov explained to Trufanov: "Don't see that the enemy's tanks are more advanced than ours, but our soldiers are better than the enemy's soldiers. Brave, even if their equipment is inferior, they will crush the enemy outside Prokhorovka at all costs."
Seeing the frustrated expression on Trufanov's face, Sokov added: "Comrade Deputy Commander, don't worry. As long as our tanks run at full power and pass through the open area quickly, as long as they get close For enemy tanks, the T-34 can use its excellent maneuverability to deal with the heavy German Tiger tanks."
"General Sokov, what you said makes sense." Trufanov waited for Sokov to finish, nodded and said, "I need to report this information to Commander Rotmistrov immediately. Let him be mentally prepared in advance.”
Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch. It was already eight-twenty, and said to Trufanov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, if you want to report to General Rotmistrov, I suggest You have to do it as quickly as possible. Once the battle starts, some orders are difficult to convey to the grassroots combat units."
"Don't worry, General Sokov." Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Trufanov said carelessly: "We plan to attack the enemy at ten o'clock, and now we still have one and a half hours."
"Comrade Deputy Commander, the situation on the battlefield is constantly changing." Sokov said with a smile: "Even if things are planned in advance, it is entirely possible to make adjustments due to some accidents."
"You make sense." Trufanov looked around and then asked politely: "General Sokov, can I borrow your radio station?"
Trufanov asked him to borrow a radio station so that he could relay his opinions to Rotmistrov. Naturally, Sokov would not object, so he readily asked Koida to lend Trufanov the division's telegraph machine. Used by Fanoff.
Less than five minutes after the telegram was sent, Trufanov received a reply from Rotmistrov, which read: "The call has been received. I will notify the tank brigade participating in the war as soon as possible and order them to pass through that area." When in open areas, full power must be used to reduce tank losses. In addition, since our army's attack time has been mastered by the Germans, after research by the Army Group Headquarters, the attack time has been advanced to 8:30 in the morning."
"Hell, the attack time has been advanced." After reading the telegram, Trufanov immediately shouted in surprise: "You know, the troops I brought have not been deployed yet." He raised his head and said to Sokov, " General Sokov, I'm so sorry, the attack is about to start, and I have to go back and arrange combat missions for the troops."
At 8:30, hundreds of Soviet artillery shelled the German positions that were about to attack.
After the bombardment continued for thirty minutes, a red flare was raised into the air, signaling the attack. Upon seeing the signal, the Soviet tanks immediately drove out from their hiding places and rushed towards the German positions in the distance at full speed.
What happened next, just as Sokov "analyzed" to Trufanov, was that when the Soviet tanks passed through the unobstructed open space, they were blocked by German Tiger tanks and 88mm anti-aircraft guns. Shooting, many moving tanks were directly hit by artillery shells and stopped in the open ground burning. For a time, the black smoke emitted by the burning tanks covered the sky and made the sky dark.
As the deputy commander of the Tank Army, Trufanov naturally knew that the offensive starting position was occupied by the Germans, and there were a large number of outdated T-70s in the Tank Army. This is also an irrefutable fact. He was silent for a long time and asked tentatively: "General Sokov, tell me, will the counterattack we launched outside Prokhorovka today be successful?"
"Comrade Deputy Commander, there is no doubt whether we can win." Sokov explained to Trufanov: "Don't see that the enemy's tanks are more advanced than ours, but our soldiers are better than the enemy's soldiers. Brave, even if their equipment is inferior, they will crush the enemy outside Prokhorovka at all costs."
Seeing the frustrated expression on Trufanov's face, Sokov added: "Comrade Deputy Commander, don't worry. As long as our tanks run at full power and pass through the open area quickly, as long as they get close For enemy tanks, the T-34 can use its excellent maneuverability to deal with the heavy German Tiger tanks."
"General Sokov, what you said makes sense." Trufanov waited for Sokov to finish, nodded and said, "I need to report this information to Commander Rotmistrov immediately. Let him be mentally prepared in advance.”
Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch. It was already eight-twenty, and said to Trufanov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, if you want to report to General Rotmistrov, I suggest You have to do it as quickly as possible. Once the battle starts, some orders are difficult to convey to the grassroots combat units."
"Don't worry, General Sokov." Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Trufanov said carelessly: "We plan to attack the enemy at ten o'clock, and now we still have one and a half hours."
"Comrade Deputy Commander, the situation on the battlefield is constantly changing." Sokov said with a smile: "Even if things are planned in advance, it is entirely possible to make adjustments due to some accidents."
"You make sense." Trufanov looked around and then asked politely: "General Sokov, can I borrow your radio station?"
Trufanov asked him to borrow a radio station so that he could relay his opinions to Rotmistrov. Naturally, Sokov would not object, so he readily asked Koida to lend Trufanov the division's telegraph machine. Used by Fanoff.
Less than five minutes after the telegram was sent, Trufanov received a reply from Rotmistrov, which read: "The call has been received. I will notify the tank brigade participating in the war as soon as possible and order them to pass through that area." When in open areas, full power must be used to reduce tank losses. In addition, since our army's attack time has been mastered by the Germans, after research by the Army Group Headquarters, the attack time has been advanced to 8:30 in the morning."
"Hell, the attack time has been advanced." After reading the telegram, Trufanov immediately shouted in surprise: "You know, the troops I brought have not been deployed yet." He raised his head and said to Sokov, " General Sokov, I'm so sorry, the attack is about to start, and I have to go back and arrange combat missions for the troops."
At 8:30, hundreds of Soviet artillery shelled the German positions that were about to attack.
After the bombardment continued for thirty minutes, a red flare was raised into the air, signaling the attack. Upon seeing the signal, the Soviet tanks immediately drove out from their hiding places and rushed towards the German positions in the distance at full speed.
What happened next, just as Sokov "analyzed" to Trufanov, was that when the Soviet tanks passed through the unobstructed open space, they were blocked by German Tiger tanks and 88mm anti-aircraft guns. Shooting, many moving tanks were directly hit by artillery shells and stopped in the open ground burning. For a time, the black smoke emitted by the burning tanks covered the sky and made the sky dark. What happened next, just as Sokov "analyzed" to Trufanov, was that when the Soviet tanks passed through the unobstructed open space, they were blocked by German Tiger tanks and 88mm anti-aircraft guns. Shooting, many moving tanks were directly hit by artillery shells and stopped in the open ground burning. For a time, the black smoke emitted by the burning tanks covered the sky and made the sky dark.
