South of Yakovlevo, the infantry brigade stubbornly blocked and contained the German 255th Infantry Division. As time passed, the German army, eager to get out of the predicament, launched offensives that became more ferocious each time.
After Sokov learned of this situation, he asked Samyko: "Chief of Staff, how long will it take for the troops that are detouring from both wings to reach the designated position?"
"Comrade Commander, if we calculate the distance from the map, they should have reached the attack position long ago." Samyko said to Sokov: "But because they were marching in forests and swamps, their speed was inevitably slowed down. It’s slow, I estimate it will take an hour at the earliest to arrive at the designated location.”
"You still have to wait another hour?" Sokov was a little anxious: "That way, when they arrive at the designated location, it will be dawn, and if they attack the enemy again, they will not have the effect of a surprise attack."
"Moreover, the enemy's strength far exceeds that of the infantry brigade. If the enemy launches a strong attack regardless of all costs, I'm worried that Uzakov and the others will not be able to withstand it."
As Sokov's chief of staff, Samyko knew very well that Sokov's concerns were completely justified. The strength of the German 255th Infantry Division far exceeds that of Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov's 46th Infantry Brigade. Even if they encounter an encirclement, as long as they launch a strong attack at all costs, it is still possible to break through the infantry brigade's defense line and occupy Yaya in one fell swoop. From the town of Kovlevo.
If the enemy occupied the town of Yakovlevo, it would probably not be easy to eat them. Naturally, Samyko would not let this happen. After staring at the map for a while, he suggested to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the troops north of Yakovlevo Town are now too scattered and it is difficult to attack them in a short period of time." Within the time, organic troops will be transferred to reinforce the infantry brigade. Do you think it is possible to transfer two marine brigades?"
"Marine brigade?" If Samyko hadn't said it, Sokov would have almost forgotten these two troops. Although the combat effectiveness of the Marine Corps was strong, after such a long battle, their attrition was also very serious, so the attack He placed them in Kochetovka when he joined Hoth's Armored Group: "The two Marine Corps brigades now have only half of their strength. It may not be enough to use them to reinforce the infantry brigades."
"Comrade Commander, most of the rescued commanders and fighters are currently stationed in the Kochetovka area." Samyko reminded Sokov: "We can supplement them nearby."
A word that woke up the dreamer. Samyko's words reminded Sokov that although he originally put the two Marine Corps brigades on the third batch of supply list, judging from the current situation, it is necessary to put these two marine brigades as soon as possible. Two brigades were thrown into battle to hold off the enemy attack.
"Director of the Signal Corps," Sokov turned to the other side of the room and shouted: "Get me through the phone of Comrade Military Commissar immediately."
After hearing Sokov's instructions, the director of the communications corps did not dare to neglect at all, and answered Lunev's call as quickly as possible: "Comrade Commander, the call has been connected."
Lunev, who woke up from his sleep, had no intention of blaming Sokov. Instead, he asked politely: "Comrade Commander, what happened?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, the situation is like this. We are preparing to encircle and annihilate the German 255th Infantry Division. However, due to insufficient strength, I plan to use the two Marine Brigades deployed in Kochetovka."
"You plan to use two marine brigades?" Lunev said with some surprise: "But they suffered very serious attrition in the early battles. With their current strength, they can only play a limited role."
"The rescued commanders and fighters are now stationed near them." Sokov said on the phone: "Comrade Military Commissar, you should replenish them with troops now so that they can enter the battle as soon as possible."
"Replenish troops for them now?" Lunev said in surprise: "Didn't the two Marine Corps brigades serve as the third batch of supplementary targets at the beginning? What's more, we have not completed the screening of rescued commanders and fighters."
"It's too late, my comrade chief of staff." Sokov said anxiously: "The infantry brigade currently holding the town of Yakovlevo is engaged in a fierce battle with the German 255th Division in the south of the town. Their strength is limited, if not Reinforce as soon as possible. Once the enemy breaks through their defenses and captures the town, we will be passive in the rest of the battle."
"But the screening work has not been completed yet. If these commanders and fighters are rashly added to the army, if something goes wrong, who will bear the responsibility?"
"I will bear this responsibility." Sokov said carelessly: "Tell those commanders and soldiers that now there is an opportunity to take revenge and wash away the shame. It is right in front of them. If they don't want to be unable to hold their heads up in front of others for the rest of their lives, just Take up arms and fight the Germans face to face."
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Lunev understood Sokov's meaning and quickly replied: "I will start working on this matter immediately and must complete all supply tasks before noon today."
"What, we have to wait until noon?" Sokov became anxious when he heard Lunev's reply: "No, it's too late. By then, the battle will probably be over. I'll give you a deadline, in the morning How about eight o'clock?"
"Eight o'clock in the morning?" Lunev looked at his watch and said with a grimace: "Comrade Commander, that means there are less than three hours left. Can we make it in time?"
"Whether you can make it in time is your responsibility." Whether the two marine brigades can enter the battle in time is related to the outcome of the battle, so Sokov said rudely: "At eight o'clock, I want to Got word two Marine brigades have moved out.”
Seeing that Sokov had given himself a deadline, Lunev realized that nothing he said was of any use, so he could only bite the bullet and said: "I understand, Comrade Commander, I will do what you want. "
Samyko waited for Sokov to finish the call and immediately said to him: "Comrade Commander, if the Marine Brigade completes its replenishment at eight o'clock, by the time they arrive at the town of Yakovlevo, I'm worried that the town will have been occupied. The enemy has taken over."
"It seems that our plan needs to be adjusted appropriately." Sokov said to Samyko: "The enemy's offensive is very fierce. Even if the infantry brigade resists desperately, without a numerical advantage and without strong defenses, It is very difficult to hold the position. I originally planned to use the artillery unit in the final attack on the enemy after the encirclement is completed, but now it seems that we must provide artillery cover for the infantry brigade."
"Are two artillery divisions conducting the bombardment at the same time, or only one of them?"
"Even using only one artillery division is a bit wasteful." Sokov replied: "I think it is completely sufficient to use one artillery regiment to intercept the enemy's attacking positions with heavy artillery."
"Okay," Samek nodded and said, "I immediately contacted Colonel Terenga, commander of the 1st Artillery Division, and asked him to use a heavy artillery regiment to block the enemy's attacking troops."
"Also," Sokov ordered Samyko before he left: "Also, you must contact a group of transport vehicles as soon as possible, and after the Marine Brigade completes the supply, immediately pull them to Yako The town of Vlevo. After all, Kochetovka is more than ten kilometers away from the town. If we simply march on foot, our commanders and soldiers will have to walk for at least two hours."
Samyko called the artillery division, and Sokov received a call from Zhukov: "Misha, how is the situation there?"
"The two infantry divisions are detouring towards the left and right wings of the German army. They will complete the encirclement of the enemy in about an hour." Sokov did not dare to neglect, and quickly replied with a solemn expression: "In addition, I have ordered emergency supplies to be The two marine brigades in Kochetovka are preparing to transfer them all to the town of Yakovlevo after completing their supplies to defeat the enemy's attempt to capture the town."
"Misha, your deployment is very comprehensive." After Zhukov praised Sokov, he continued: "Now Vatutin has ordered three artillery divisions to take turns bombarding the enemy's positions north of Belgorod.
This has two purposes: first, it will give the enemy the illusion that we are preparing to launch an attack on Belgorod at this moment, so that they will not dare to easily mobilize troops to reinforce the 255th Division;
Second, when the enemy mistakenly believes that Belgorod will be attacked by our army, he will definitely order the 255th Infantry Division to speed up the attack to seize the town of Yakovlevo as a wedge into our defense line. . "
After listening to Zhukov's words, Sokov felt more at ease. You know, if you want to annihilate the German infantry division, it is far from enough to rely on your own troops. The 255th Infantry Division, which is attacking the town of Yakovlevo, once finds that it is in danger of being encircled, may then turn around and flee, and escape back to Belgorod before the encirclement is formed.
In another situation, even if the encirclement of the 255th Infantry Division is successfully completed, if the German troops in Belgorod send out reinforcements, the 84th and 254th Infantry Divisions that have detoured to the enemy's rear will be in danger of being attacked from both sides.
But now, as Vatutin ordered the artillery troops to bombard the defensive positions on the north line of the city, the enemy misjudged. They would think that the Soviet army was about to launch an attack to the north of the city, and even if they saw the 255th Infantry Division being surrounded, they would not dare to send troops for reinforcements. At the same time, as Zhukov analyzed, Manstein would even order the 255th Infantry Division to continue assaulting the town of Yakovlevo in order to obtain a salient to contain the Soviet troops to the west of the city.
After Zhukov finished speaking, he waited for a while and did not hear Sokov finish speaking. He asked strangely: "Misha, did you hear what I said clearly?"
"Listen clearly!"
"Since you heard me clearly, why don't you speak?"
"It seems that our plan needs to be adjusted appropriately." Sokov said to Samyko: "The enemy's offensive is very fierce. Even if the infantry brigade resists desperately, without a numerical advantage and without strong defenses, It is very difficult to hold the position. I originally planned to use the artillery unit in the final attack on the enemy after the encirclement is completed, but now it seems that we must provide artillery cover for the infantry brigade."
"Are two artillery divisions conducting the bombardment at the same time, or only one of them?"
"Even using only one artillery division is a bit wasteful." Sokov replied: "I think it is completely sufficient to use one artillery regiment to intercept the enemy's attacking positions with heavy artillery."
"Okay," Samek nodded and said, "I immediately contacted Colonel Terenga, commander of the 1st Artillery Division, and asked him to use a heavy artillery regiment to block the enemy's attacking troops."
"Also," Sokov ordered Samyko before he left: "Also, you must contact a group of transport vehicles as soon as possible, and after the Marine Brigade completes the supply, immediately pull them to Yako The town of Vlevo. After all, Kochetovka is more than ten kilometers away from the town. If we simply march on foot, our commanders and soldiers will have to walk for at least two hours."
Samyko called the artillery division, and Sokov received a call from Zhukov: "Misha, how is the situation there?"
"The two infantry divisions are detouring towards the left and right wings of the German army. They will complete the encirclement of the enemy in about an hour." Sokov did not dare to neglect, and quickly replied with a solemn expression: "In addition, I have ordered emergency supplies to be The two marine brigades in Kochetovka are preparing to transfer them all to the town of Yakovlevo after completing their supplies to defeat the enemy's attempt to capture the town."
"Misha, your deployment is very comprehensive." After Zhukov praised Sokov, he continued: "Now Vatutin has ordered three artillery divisions to take turns bombarding the enemy's positions north of Belgorod.
This has two purposes: first, it will give the enemy the illusion that we are preparing to launch an attack on Belgorod at this moment, so that they will not dare to easily mobilize troops to reinforce the 255th Division;
Second, when the enemy mistakenly believes that Belgorod will be attacked by our army, he will definitely order the 255th Infantry Division to speed up the attack to seize the town of Yakovlevo as a wedge into our defense line. . "
After listening to Zhukov's words, Sokov felt more at ease. You know, if you want to annihilate the German infantry division, it is far from enough to rely on your own troops. The 255th Infantry Division, which is attacking the town of Yakovlevo, once finds that it is in danger of being encircled, may then turn around and flee, and escape back to Belgorod before the encirclement is formed.
In another situation, even if the encirclement of the 255th Infantry Division is successfully completed, if the German troops in Belgorod send out reinforcements, the 84th and 254th Infantry Divisions that have detoured to the enemy's flank and rear will be in danger of being attacked from both sides.
But now, as Vatutin ordered the artillery troops to bombard the defensive positions on the north line of the city, the enemy misjudged. They would think that the Soviet army was about to launch an attack to the north of the city, and even if they saw the 255th Infantry Division being surrounded, they would not dare to send troops for reinforcements. At the same time, as Zhukov analyzed, Manstein would even order the 255th Infantry Division to continue assaulting the town of Yakovlevo in order to obtain a salient to contain the Soviet troops to the west of the city.
After Zhukov finished speaking, he waited for a while and did not hear Sokov finish speaking. He asked strangely: "Misha, did you hear what I said clearly?"
"Listen clearly!"
"Since you heard me clearly, why don't you speak?"
"Comrade Marshal," Sokov said with a smile, "I am thinking about what request I should make to you?"
"Request?" Zhukov asked in confusion: "What request do you want to make?"
