After saying this, Sokov held his breath, just like a student waiting for the teacher to announce the test results, anxiously waiting for Konev's answer to him.
After waiting for a long time, Konev's voice never came from the receiver. Sokov even thought that the other party had hung up the phone. He listened carefully and vaguely heard the sound of someone talking inside and the ticking of the radio. Only then did he realize that Konev had not hung up the phone, but was seriously thinking about his proposal.
"Comrade Sokov," Konev finally made the final decision after repeated thoughts: "I can send the air force to provide you with air cover. However, I have a condition."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov couldn't help but feel ecstatic when he heard Konev said that he could provide him with air cover. As for what conditions the other party would propose, he could no longer think about it: "Please tell me, as long as it's me If I can do it, I will definitely agree to your terms.”
"Although your group army is now temporarily under the command of the Voronezh Front," Konev said on the phone, "but once the Battle of Kursk is over, the headquarters will directly seek your opinions on whether you will return to the Steppe Front. I I hope you can lead your troops back to the grassland front army by then, how about it, can you do it?"
"No problem." After learning such a simple condition, Sokov immediately replied unambiguously: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I was originally from the Steppe Front Army, and now I am under the command of General Vatutin, and it is only temporary. Yes. Once the battle is over, even if the base camp does not ask for my opinion, I will take the initiative to return to the grassland front army."
Seeing that Sokov readily agreed to his conditions, Konev felt very satisfied. After asking about the area where the German air force was located, he said: "Comrade Sokov, the air force supporting you will be in half a Arrive at the battlefield within hours.”
Although Konev said that it would take half an hour for the air force to arrive on the battlefield. However, after receiving his order, the Air Force fighters, which had been in preparation for war, took off one after another in less than five minutes. 36 bombers and 24 fighters took off one after another. After completing their formation in the air, they headed towards the raging German Air Force. Fly into the airspace.
Ten minutes later, the fighter jets, which were covering the bombers and bombing the Soviet troops on the ground, discovered the shadow of a Soviet fighter plane in the distance, and rushed to intercept it. The two sides launched a fierce confrontation in the air.
Dozens or hundreds of fighter planes soon started fighting in the sky. From time to time, one after another, the planes emitting black smoke fell from the high altitude and fell to the ground, making earth-shattering explosions and a huge plume. fireball. Most pilots successfully parachute before the plane crashes.
Through the phone call with Major General Gritsenko, Sokov learned that the air force dispatched by Konev had now arrived on the battlefield and was engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy's air force. He ordered Gritsenko: "Comrade General, I am now Two orders are given to you: first, order the troops to switch to the offensive again, and be sure to annihilate the 19th Armored Division before the enemy's reinforcements arrive; second, send out several search teams to rescue our parachuting pilots and capture Enemy pilot."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Major General Gritsenko replied loudly: "We immediately launched a comprehensive offensive and strive to annihilate the German 19th Armored Division in the shortest possible time. "
After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Samyko: "Chief of Staff, the air force sent by General Konev is engaged in a fierce battle with the German air force. Order several troops in other directions to speed up the attack and make sure to do so in the shortest possible time. Within time, Schmidt’s 19th Armored Division will be eliminated.”
"Comrade Commander," although the air force dispatched by Konev has arrived on the battlefield and started a confrontation with the enemy's air force, Samyko still said with lingering fear: "Do you think our air force can win?"
"Chief of Staff, what's wrong with you? Don't you have confidence in our army's final victory?" After Sokov said this, before waiting for Samyko's response, he said to himself: "I believe we The pilots have accumulated rich combat experience in so many years of fighting and are fully capable of defeating the enemy. You know, the number of fighter planes we have in the Kursk salient is twice as many as that of the enemy. If If we can't win this way, we might as well disband the Air Force."
Without the German air threat, the Soviet troops that surrounded the 19th Armored Division launched attacks from several directions simultaneously. Although the German officers and soldiers put up a desperate resistance, their resistance seemed so insignificant in front of the tide of Soviet tanks and infantry. Every defensive position was like a pile of sand on the beach, which was quickly washed away by the big waves. Without a trace.
When Schmidt reported to Manstein, he said that his troops could still sustain for two hours, but just after an hour, he was horrified to find that Soviet tanks and infantry had appeared in his field of vision, a distance away His command post was no more than two hundred meters away.
Seeing this situation, Schmidt panicked and shouted to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, the Russians are coming. You immediately organize your troops to counterattack and drive them away from the headquarters." .”
"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the Chief of Staff is also a clever man who can't make a living without rice. The only force he can use is a guard company. It is basically impossible to block the Soviet attack arrows composed of tanks and infantry. . He could only say to Schmidt tactfully: "It seems that we can't hold on until the reinforcements sent by the marshal arrive. Otherwise, we should order the troops to surrender, which can save more lives."
"Colonel, do you know what you are talking about?" Schmidt heard the Chief of Staff say this, his eyes widened suddenly, and he shouted at the other party: "You haven't fought to the last person, do you think you want to surrender? This is simply a disgrace to the military. If the SS men hear about it, you may not even have a chance to go to a military court, and they will punish you on the spot. I now order you to immediately remove the remaining guard companies. All go into battle and stop the Russian attack at all costs."
The chief of staff had no choice but to throw all the remaining guard troops of the division into the battle. According to his thinking, no matter how fierce the Soviet offensive was, it would take at least an hour to break through the defenses near the division headquarters.
Unexpectedly, not long after the guard company entered the position, many flying objects with white smoke ribbons flew out of the Soviet position. These objects landed on the position where the guard company was located and exploded. After the dazzling firelight flashed, thick Thick smoke enveloped the position. The chief of staff, who was staying at the headquarters, felt the ground beneath his feet shaking violently from the explosion. Although he could not clearly see the situation on the position, he knew in his heart that most of the guard company just sent to the position had been wiped out.
He turned around and came to Schmidt, and reported to him in despair: "Your Excellency, division commander, the Russians have used new weapons, and our guard company has been completely wiped out."
"What, our guard company was completely wiped out in such a short period of time?" Schmidt was startled by the chief of staff's words, and quickly asked: "What weapon is so powerful? Did the Russians use poison gas bombs?" ?”
"Your Excellency, Division Commander, the Russians will not use poison gas bombs." The Chief of Staff replied with a wry smile: "It should be the legendary new rocket. This rocket is small in size, easy to carry, and can be launched in different terrains. , other friendly forces suffered a lot from this weapon."
"Then what should we do?" Schmidt confirmed that the guard company he relied on had been decommissioned, and he couldn't help but panic: "The guard company has been decommissioned, and the Russians will soon be in front of us."
"Your Excellency, Division Commander," the Chief of Staff had already made up his mind. Under the current circumstances, if he continued to fight, he would die in vain, so it was better to persuade Schmidt to surrender. If he didn't agree, he would think of a way to make him agree: "The way, as I just said, is to lay down your arms and surrender to the Russians. This will save more people's lives."
When things got to this point, Schmidt knew that if he continued to resist, he would end up dying together. After a brief thought, he finally lowered his arrogant head: "Okay, Chief of Staff, then order the remaining troops to stop resisting and surrender to the Russians."
As the order was issued, the sound of guns and artillery on the battlefield became sparse. One after another, the German positions that were still resisting raised white flags and surrendered to the nearby Soviet commanders and soldiers.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov learned that the German army had begun to wave the white flag to surrender, but there was no news about the capture of the division commander Schmidt, so he asked Sameko: "Why is there no news about the capture of the German division commander General Schmidt?" Woolen cloth?"
"Comrade Commander, there are several troops surrounding the German division headquarters now," Samyko reported to Sokov: "They are all waiting for your order to see where you are going to leave the honor of capturing the German division commander. A troop.”
Sokov glanced at the unit number provided by Samyko and saw a familiar commander's name in it. He pointed to that name and said to Samyko: "Chief of Staff, immediately send a telegram to the front and say to let the navy Lieutenant Colonel Shamrih, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 84th Marine Brigade, went to accept Schmidt’s surrender.”
Hearing Sokov directly mention Shamrich's name, Samyko immediately understood that Sokov wanted to leave such an honor to his old subordinates, so he said understandingly: "I understand, Commander Comrade Communist, I immediately called the brigade commander, Colonel Chuvashov, and asked him to send the Shamrich Battalion to the German division headquarters to receive the prisoners."
The location of the Shamrich Battalion is about two hundred meters away from the German division headquarters. On their right wing is a battalion of the infantry brigade. While waiting for the surrender, several company-level commanders in the battalion gathered together to discuss which unit the army headquarters would order to capture the German division commander Schmidt.
After listening to several company commanders chatting for a while, the deputy battalion commander, Captain Yakuda, interjected: "Comrades, the unit closest to the German division headquarters now is the third battalion of the infantry brigade. They are less than 100 meters away from the enemy's headquarters. meters, and we are two hundred meters away. If you were the superior commander, which unit would you send to accept the German surrender?"
After hearing what Yakuda said, the several company commanders suddenly lost their energy like deflated balloons. Yes, what the deputy battalion commander said makes sense. One is less than a hundred meters away from the German headquarters, and the other is two hundred meters away. Isn't it a matter of certainty which unit will accept the surrender?
When things got to this point, Schmidt knew that if he continued to resist, he would end up dying together. After a brief thought, he finally lowered his arrogant head: "Okay, Chief of Staff, then order the remaining troops to stop resisting and surrender to the Russians."
As the order was issued, the sound of guns and artillery on the battlefield became sparse. One after another, the German positions that were still resisting raised white flags and surrendered to the nearby Soviet commanders and soldiers.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov learned that the German army had begun to wave the white flag to surrender, but there was no news about the capture of the division commander Schmidt, so he asked Sameko: "Why is there no news about the capture of the German division commander General Schmidt?" Woolen cloth?"
"Comrade Commander, there are several troops surrounding the German division headquarters now," Samyko reported to Sokov: "They are all waiting for your order to see where you are going to leave the honor of capturing the German division commander. A troop.”
Sokov glanced at the unit number provided by Samyko and saw a familiar commander's name in it. He pointed to that name and said to Samyko: "Chief of Staff, immediately send a telegram to the front and say to let the navy Lieutenant Colonel Shamrih, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 84th Marine Brigade, went to accept Schmidt’s surrender.”
Hearing Sokov directly mention Shamrich's name, Samyko immediately understood that Sokov wanted to leave such an honor to his old subordinates, so he said understandingly: "I understand, Commander Comrade Communist, I immediately called the brigade commander, Colonel Chuvashov, and asked him to send the Shamrich Battalion to the German division headquarters to receive the prisoners."
The location of the Shamrich Battalion is about two hundred meters away from the German division headquarters. On their right wing is a battalion of the infantry brigade. While waiting for the surrender, several company-level commanders in the battalion gathered together to discuss which unit the army headquarters would order to capture the German division commander Schmidt.
After listening to several company commanders chatting for a while, the deputy battalion commander, Captain Yakuda, interjected: "Comrades, the unit closest to the German division headquarters now is the third battalion of the infantry brigade. They are less than 100 meters away from the enemy's headquarters. meters, and we are two hundred meters away. If you were the superior commander, which unit would you send to accept the German surrender?"
After hearing what Yakuda said, the several company commanders suddenly lost their energy like deflated balloons. Yes, what the deputy battalion commander said makes sense. One is less than a hundred meters away from the German headquarters, and the other is two hundred meters away. Isn't it a matter of certainty which unit will accept the surrender?
