Annihilated the 19th Armored Division and captured the division commander General Schmidt. This is not only exciting news, but also a brilliant result.
After Samek learned that Schmidt had officially become a prisoner of the Marine Brigade, he specifically asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, what should we do with this German general? Should we keep him or send him to the front army?" headquarters?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov frowned at Samyko's proposal: "Send it to the Front Army Headquarters. Which Front Army Headquarters should I send it to? Is it General Konev's Steppe Front Army Headquarters or General Vatutin? Where is the headquarters of the Voronezh Front?"
Samyko didn't expect Sokov to ask this, and for a moment, he didn't know how to answer.
Seeing that Sameko didn't speak, Sokov continued: "And the roads today are not safe. What should we do if someone comes to rescue us during the escort?"
Sokov's words reminded Samyko that at the beginning of the year, Simon, the acting commander of the Skeleton Division, had been captured. However, on the way to Moscow, the escorting unit was attacked by the remnants of the Skeleton Division, causing Simon to be kidnapped by the Germans. Although this matter has little to do with him, he cannot take it lightly.
Sameko frowned and thought for a while, and finally came up with a plan: "Comrade Commander, let's lock both Schmidt and Simon in the headquarters, and wait until the battle is over before considering how to deal with them. "
"Whose hands is Simon?" Sokov heard Sameko mentioning Simon, the commander of the Skeleton Division, and couldn't help but ask: "Is it us, or is it in the hands of the 5th Guards Tank Army?"
"In our hands." Sameko replied in a positive tone: "Not long after you came back from the front, the commanders and fighters of the 254th Division captured General Simon."
Seeing Sokov's confused look, Samek quickly added: "Comrade Asiya was kidnapped by the enemy at that time, which may have affected your mood. I have reported this to you, but you don't seem to have anything to do with it. reaction."
After Samek's reminder, Sokov immediately realized that this seemed to be the case, nodded and said: "Listening to what you said, I seem to have an impression that it is indeed Colonel Shechtman's unit. Catch him. Now that General Simon is in our hands, things will be easier to handle. Let them immediately send someone to escort Simon to the headquarters."
"When Generals Simon and Schmidt arrive, do you want to meet them?"
"No, I don't want to see them." Even though the two prisoners were German generals, Sokov was still not interested in seeing them. He waved his hand to Samek and said, "Find a suitable place to imprison them and let Xie Liao Sha personally led the security company to take charge of their care. As for their demands, as long as they are not excessive, they can be met."
After Sokov finished speaking, he turned his attention to the map again. He knew very well that not long after he annihilated the Skull Division, he also annihilated the 19th Armored Division. Manstein must hate him deeply and will definitely send troops to attack. own defense zone. In order not to be caught off guard by the Germans, Sokov began to think about how to mobilize his troops.
"Comrade Commander," when Sokov was looking at the map, he suddenly heard Lunev asking from the side: "Since we have annihilated the 19th Armored Division, should we report this good news to the front army headquarters? Woolen cloth?"
"Ah, haven't we reported to our superiors about the annihilation of the 19th Armored Division?" Sokov asked in surprise.
"No." Lunev shook his head and replied simply, "After receiving the news that the 19th Armored Division was annihilated, you and the chief of staff were studying how to deal with the prisoners, and you did not report the situation to your superiors at all. "
"Comrade Commander," after hearing what Luniev said, Samyko came over and asked Sokov for instructions: "Which front headquarters should we report this good news to?"
Sokov began to run into trouble again. He was simply a servant with two masters at the moment, and it seemed inappropriate to which front army headquarters he should report to first. After weighing the powerful relationship, he ordered Sameko: "Chief of Staff, order the radio operators to send reports to the two front army headquarters at the same time, and report to them the news that we have annihilated the 19th Armored Division."
"This is a good idea." Sameko nodded and said, "Send reports to the two front army headquarters at the same time, so that no one can find anything to say. I will make arrangements immediately."
"Comrade Commander, with the destruction of the 19th Armored Division, the German troops on the southern front have been separated by us into two groups, the east and west." Lunev took advantage of Samyko's call and humbly asked Sokov for advice. : "In which direction do you think our superiors will order us to fight next?"
"I don't know." Sokov couldn't figure out the details of Vatutin. Naturally, he couldn't guess what the other party would do next. He could only answer truthfully: "After our group army has gone through successive battles, the strength of the troops has changed." The casualties are not small. If the battle continues, not only will the physical strength of the commanders and soldiers be unable to keep up, but also greater casualties will be caused. The most ideal result is for us to rest in the existing area for three to five days and replenish some Soldiers and technical equipment to ensure that the troops have the ability to cope with the next stage of the battle."
"Yes, after this period of fighting, our troops have indeed paid a heavy price." After hearing what Sokov said, Lunev immediately agreed: "We can indeed make such a supply request to our superiors. "
Seeing that Lunev agreed with his thoughts so readily, Sokov asked with some confusion: "Comrade Military Commissar, you should know that all the troops need to be replenished because of the battle. Do you think the superiors will agree with us?" A supply request?"
"If other troops make such a request to their superiors, even if they are not rejected, they can only wait patiently for supplies in accordance with the supply order assigned by their superiors." Lunev said with some pride: "But what about us? But it was a heroic force that saved the Oboyan defense line and annihilated the Skeleton Division and the 19th Armored Division. As long as we make a supply request, I think our superiors will give us priority in supplying soldiers and equipment."
When Sokov heard this, it seemed that this was really the case. His troops could be regarded as brilliant in this battle of Kursk. If he had not led his troops in time to block the enemies who broke through the Oboyan defense line, the German army might have rushed outside the city of Kursk at this moment.
Just as Sokov, Lunev, and Samyko were carefully calculating the number of soldiers and technical equipment that each division and brigade should add, Vatutin received a telegram from Sokov. After reading the above content, he quickly came to the small room where Zhukov and Vasilevsky were staying, and reported to them: "Two comrades, marshal, just received a telegram from Major General Sokov. His The troops have successfully annihilated the 19th Armored Division and captured the division commander Schmidt."
Zhukov, who was talking to Vasilevsky, after listening to Vatutin's report, made a fist with his right hand and banged it on the palm of his left hand. He said excitedly: "Misha wiped out the 19th Armored Division so quickly. , what a beautiful job.”
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Vasilevsky also said with a smile: "With the destruction of the 19th Armored Division, the German army on the southern front was divided into east and west by our army, making the situation favorable to our army. direction of development.”
"Comrade Vatutin," Zhukov asked Vatutin with a smile on his face, "what are you going to do next?"
"Judging from the current situation, the northern front is basically stable. Even if the German army breaks through from the direction of Oboyan, it will not have much impact on the overall situation." Vatutin pointed to the map and told the two marshals his plan: "So I think what we need to do now is to deal with the enemies outside Prokhorovka. As long as their attack on the city is completely crushed, we can confidently and boldly mobilize our troops and rush to Oboyan in the west. Completely defeat the 48th Armored Corps active there."
"Comrade Marshal," Vasilevsky reminded Zhukov after waiting for Vatutin to finish speaking: "Since there are no organized German troops near Sokov's troops, can we mobilize them to participate in one of the directions? attack?"
In response to the plan proposed by Vasilevsky, Zhukov stared at the map and thought for a while, and then said: "I agree with Comrade Vatutin's opinion. First, concentrate our forces to deal with the enemies outside Prokhorovka, so that we can Only when we attack the 48th Armored Corps in the Oboyan area can we get rid of the disadvantageous situation of fighting on two fronts."
"Let me add one more thing," Vasilevsky saw that Vatutin seemed to have something else to say, so he got ahead of them and said: "At noon tomorrow at the latest, the 53rd Army Group of the Steppe Front and more than two hundred vehicles The mechanized 1st Army of Tanks can cross the Pushor River and reach the north of Prokhorovka. In this way, we will be much higher than the German army not only in terms of military strength but also in technical equipment." "This is a good idea. "Sameko nodded and said: "Send a report to the two front army headquarters at the same time, so that no one can find anything to say, and I will make arrangements immediately."
"Comrade Commander, with the destruction of the 19th Armored Division, the German troops on the southern front have been separated by us into two groups, the east and west." Lunev took advantage of Samyko's call and humbly asked Sokov for advice. : "In which direction do you think our superiors will order us to fight next?"
"I don't know." Sokov couldn't figure out the details of Vatutin. Naturally, he couldn't guess what the other party would do next. He could only answer truthfully: "After our group army has gone through successive battles, the strength of the troops has changed." The casualties are not small. If the battle continues, not only will the physical strength of the commanders and soldiers be unable to keep up, but also greater casualties will be caused. The most ideal result is for us to rest in the existing area for three to five days and replenish some Soldiers and technical equipment to ensure that the troops have the ability to cope with the next stage of the battle."
"Yes, after this period of fighting, our troops have indeed paid a heavy price." After hearing what Sokov said, Lunev immediately agreed: "We can indeed make such a supply request to our superiors. "
Seeing that Lunev agreed with his thoughts so readily, Sokov asked with some confusion: "Comrade Military Commissar, you should know that all the troops need to be replenished because of the battle. Do you think the superiors will agree with us?" A supply request?"
"If other troops make such a request to their superiors, even if they are not rejected, they can only wait patiently for supplies in accordance with the supply order assigned by their superiors." Lunev said with some pride: "But what about us? But it was a heroic force that saved the Oboyan defense line and annihilated the Skeleton Division and the 19th Armored Division. As long as we make a supply request, I think our superiors will give us priority in supplying soldiers and equipment."
When Sokov heard this, it seemed that this was really the case. His troops could be regarded as brilliant in this battle of Kursk. If he had not led his troops in time to block the enemies who broke through the Oboyan defense line, the German army might have rushed outside the city of Kursk at this moment.
Just as Sokov, Lunev, and Samyko were carefully calculating the number of soldiers and technical equipment that each division and brigade should add, Vatutin received a telegram from Sokov. After reading the above content, he quickly came to the small room where Zhukov and Vasilevsky were staying, and reported to them: "Two comrades, marshal, just received a telegram from Major General Sokov. His The troops have successfully annihilated the 19th Armored Division and captured the division commander Schmidt."
Zhukov, who was talking to Vasilevsky, after listening to Vatutin's report, made a fist with his right hand and banged it on the palm of his left hand. He said excitedly: "Misha wiped out the 19th Armored Division so quickly. , what a beautiful job.”
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Vasilevsky also said with a smile: "With the destruction of the 19th Armored Division, the German army on the southern front was divided into east and west by our army, making the situation favorable to our army. direction of development.”
"Comrade Vatutin," Zhukov asked Vatutin with a smile on his face, "what are you going to do next?"
"Judging from the current situation, the northern front is basically stable. Even if the German army breaks through from the direction of Oboyan, it will not have much impact on the overall situation." Vatutin pointed to the map and told the two marshals his plan: "So I think what we need to do now is to deal with the enemies outside Prokhorovka. As long as their attack on the city is completely crushed, we can confidently and boldly mobilize our troops and rush to Oboyan in the west. Completely defeat the 48th Armored Corps active there."
"Comrade Marshal," Vasilevsky reminded Zhukov after waiting for Vatutin to finish speaking: "Since there are no organized German troops near Sokov's troops, can we mobilize them to participate in one of the directions? attack?"
In response to the plan proposed by Vasilevsky, Zhukov stared at the map and thought for a while, and then said: "I agree with Comrade Vatutin's opinion. First, concentrate our forces to deal with the enemies outside Prokhorovka, so that we can Only when we attack the 48th Armored Corps in the Oboyan area can we get rid of the disadvantageous situation of fighting on two fronts."
"Let me add one more thing," Vasilevsky saw that Vatutin seemed to have something else to say, so he got ahead of them and said: "At noon tomorrow at the latest, the 53rd Army Group of the Steppe Front and more than two hundred vehicles The mechanized 1st Army of Tanks can cross the Pushor River and reach the north of Prokhorovka. In this way, we are not only significantly higher than the German army in terms of military strength but also technical equipment."
