"If you don't try it, how will you know if it works?"
Sokov heard deep dissatisfaction in Vatutin's tone. But he did not panic because of this. He was very self-aware. Using an incomplete group army to attack Belgorod, which was heavily guarded by the German army, was somewhat overestimating his capabilities. Sokov would never do this kind of loss-making business.
"Comrade General," Sokov said slowly after Vatutin stopped talking: "My troops have just annihilated the German 255th Infantry Division. The commanders and soldiers are exhausted and they need a good rest. It will take some time. At the same time, the additional troops given to us by our superiors will still need some time to adjust. Therefore, under the current circumstances, it is not suitable to launch an advanced attack yet."
Vatutin wanted to say a few more words, but was interrupted by Zhukov: "Comrade Vatutin, I think Sokov is right. After a long period of fighting, his troops have become exhausted and need to be repaired. There are also those commanders and fighters who have just joined the army and need time to familiarize themselves with the environment and increase their compatibility with their new comrades."
"Comrade Marshal," after hearing Zhukov's words, Vatutin quickly covered the microphone with his hand and asked respectfully: "So, we will not attack Belgorod for the time being?"
"The troops involved in the operation are still being assembled." Zhukov reminded Vatutin, "There is no need for us to waste our own strength on such a meaningless attack."
————
"Understood, Comrade Marshal, I will immediately convey your message to Major General Sokov." Vatutin released his hand covering the microphone, "Major General Sokov, the current task of your army is to seize the time to rest and recuperate. Prepare to participate in the next phase of combat operations."
"Yes, Comrade General." Hearing that Vatutin would no longer allow him to carry out the mission to die, Sokov secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "We will complete the rest and make all preparations for battle before the next war begins. of."
Vatutin put down the phone and returned to Zhukov's side to continue having dinner. At this time Vasilevsky suddenly said: "Marshal Zhukov, Comrade Sokov performed well during this period. He annihilated several German divisions in succession. This is an amazing victory. When will the base camp plan to give him a promotion and a military title?" Awarding a medal?"
"It may take a while." Zhukov said slowly: "His grade is too young. If he is promoted too quickly, it will not be a good thing for his future. I think it is better to wait a little longer until we win Bel. After Gorod and Kharkov, it is not too late to consider his affairs.”
"Yes, he is too young." Vasilevsky also said with emotion: "If he is promoted to lieutenant general or even general at a young age, I am worried about those who have been in the army for more than ten or twenty years. A 20-year-old commander will feel resentful towards him."
"Many of our division-level commanders have served in the army for more than ten or twenty years and have rich command experience, but now they are just colonels or lieutenant colonels." Vatutin continued: "If they see Sokov is so young, General, there will be some imbalance in his heart."
When Zhukov and others were talking about Sokov in the headquarters, Sokov was assigning tasks to Samyko in his headquarters: "Comrade Chief of Staff, General Vatutin has agreed to let us switch to defense on the spot. Then attack Belgorod. But during this period, we still have a lot to do..."
Seeing Samyko taking out his notebook and preparing to write down what he said, Sokov continued: "We don't know whether the enemy will launch another attack on our army's defense zone before our new round of offensive begins, so All units should seize the time to build fortifications at the boundaries of where they are currently stationed to prevent possible German attacks.
Secondly, the commanders and fighters rescued from the prisoner-of-war camps should be replenished into various units as soon as possible, so that everyone can seize the time to run in and increase coordination in combat. "
After Sokov finished handing over all the tasks, Samyko reminded him: "Comrade Commander, before the start of the battle, our entire army was equipped with new assault rifles sent by the Weapons and Equipment Department. But after this period of time, In battle, the attrition rate of assault rifles is very high. When will you contact the weapons and equipment department and ask them to replenish us with a batch of firearms so that all these rescued commanders and fighters can be armed."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I think what you are talking about is a bit difficult to handle." Sokov frowned and said to Samyko: "I called Colonel Yakov some time ago, and he told me that what we need Assault rifles, they won’t be delivered until at least mid-August.”
"Delivery in mid-August should be in time." Sameko said urgently: "Although we will launch a new attack on the enemy soon, according to my estimation, this battle will take at least half a month to arrive. If we can supply the goods in mid-August, we can just make up for the weapons lost on the battlefield."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think we can count on this batch of weapons."
"What, we can't count on this batch of weapons?" Sokov's words confused Samyko. He asked puzzledly: "Comrade Commander, why is this?"
"The reason is very simple. These newly added commanders and fighters have no experience in using new assault rifles. Even if they are equipped with these weapons, I am afraid it will be difficult for them to exert their due combat effectiveness on the battlefield."
Knowing that Sokov did not plan to equip the newly added soldiers with new assault rifles, Samek felt a little disappointed, but he still asked with a sense of luck: "What about other equipment? For example, rocket launchers and new rocket launchers .You know, these weapons are the key to our surprise victory."
Sokov felt that Samyko's words made sense, so he nodded and said, "Chief of Staff, you are right. The main reason why we have been able to accomplish extraordinary feats in recent battles is It’s just relying on new equipment. We will soon be involved in a new battle, and if we don’t have enough new weapons, we may suffer huge casualties in the next battle.”
After saying this, Sokov immediately called the director of the communications corps to him and asked straight to the point: "Comrade director of the communications corps, can the phone in our headquarters communicate directly with Moscow?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." The Director of the Communications Corps replied without hesitation: "I wonder which department in Moscow you plan to communicate with?"
"Materials and Equipment Department, look for Colonel Yakov." Sokov said briefly: "I have important matters to discuss with him."
About five minutes later, the director of the communications corps came over and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the line in Moscow has been connected, and you can talk to the other party at any time."
Sokov took the phone: "Hello, I am Major General Sokov, who are you?"
"Misha, besides me, who else can be in my office?" Yakov knew that Sokov never went to the Three Treasures Hall for anything, so he took the initiative to call him today. There must be something important, so he asked quickly: "Is there anything urgent you want to see me for?"
"Yes, Yakov, something very urgent."
"Tell me!" Yakov opened the folder in front of him, picked up a pen and paper, and asked with his usual expression: "I can record it."
"Yasha, the situation is like this." Sokov called the opponent's life affectionately and said bluntly, "My army has just added tens of thousands of new soldiers, but they lack enough weapons. I want to ask you, When will the produced assault rifles arrive?”
"Misha, didn't I tell you last time? It will be mid-August at the earliest. This is already the fastest deadline we can reach after we try our best."
"No, it's been delayed for too long. As a result, we won't be able to use it when we participate in the next round of offensive operations." Sokov asked in a negotiating tone: "Can you and the military factory Can the factory director and engineers discuss this? Let them increase their daily output as soon as possible."
Hearing what Sokov said, Yakov was really dumbfounded: "Misha, I have provided you with all the help I can within the scope of my authority. Originally, the base camp wanted to list this new assault rifle as a They were assigned to various Guards corps and divisions, but after my repeated persuasion, my superiors finally agreed."
"If you don't try it, how will you know if it works?"
Sokov heard deep dissatisfaction in Vatutin's tone. But he did not panic because of this. He was very self-aware. Using an incomplete group army to attack Belgorod, which was heavily guarded by the German army, was somewhat overestimating his capabilities. Sokov would never do this kind of loss-making business.
"Comrade General," Sokov said slowly after Vatutin stopped talking: "My troops have just annihilated the German 255th Infantry Division. The commanders and soldiers are exhausted and they need a good rest. It will take some time. At the same time, the additional troops given to us by our superiors will still need some time to adjust. Therefore, under the current circumstances, it is not suitable to launch an advanced attack yet."
Vatutin wanted to say a few more words, but was interrupted by Zhukov: "Comrade Vatutin, I think Sokov is right. After a long period of fighting, his troops have become exhausted and need to be repaired. There are also those commanders and fighters who have just joined the army and need time to familiarize themselves with the environment and increase their compatibility with their new comrades."
"Comrade Marshal," after hearing Zhukov's words, Vatutin quickly covered the microphone with his hand and asked respectfully: "So, we will not attack Belgorod for the time being?"
"The troops involved in the operation are still being assembled." Zhukov reminded Vatutin, "There is no need for us to waste our own strength on such a meaningless attack."
"Understood, Comrade Marshal, I will immediately convey your message to Major General Sokov." Vatutin released his hand covering the microphone, "Major General Sokov, the current task of your army is to seize the time to rest and recuperate. Prepare to participate in the next phase of combat operations."
"Yes, Comrade General." Hearing that Vatutin would no longer allow him to carry out the mission to die, Sokov secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "We will complete the rest and make all preparations for battle before the next war begins. of."
Vatutin put down the phone and returned to Zhukov's side to continue having dinner. At this time Vasilevsky suddenly said: "Marshal Zhukov, Comrade Sokov performed well during this period. He annihilated several German divisions in succession. This is an amazing victory. When will the base camp plan to give him a promotion and a military title?" Awarding a medal?"
"It may take a while." Zhukov said slowly: "His grade is too young. If he is promoted too quickly, it will not be a good thing for his future. I think it is better to wait a little longer until we win Bel. After Gorod and Kharkov, it is not too late to consider his affairs.”
"Yes, he is too young." Vasilevsky also said with emotion: "If he is promoted to lieutenant general or even general at a young age, I am worried about those who have been in the army for more than ten or twenty years. A 20-year-old commander will feel resentful towards him."
"Many of our division-level commanders have served in the army for more than ten or twenty years and have rich command experience, but now they are just colonels or lieutenant colonels." Vatutin continued: "If they see Sokov is so young, General, there will be some imbalance in his heart."
When Zhukov and others were talking about Sokov in the headquarters, Sokov was assigning tasks to Samyko in his headquarters: "Comrade Chief of Staff, General Vatutin has agreed to let us switch to defense on the spot. Then attack Belgorod. But during this period, we still have a lot to do..."
Seeing Samek take out his notebook and prepare to write down what he said, Sokov continued: "We don't know whether the enemy will attack our group army's defense area again before our new round of offensive begins, so All units should seize the time to build fortifications at the boundaries of where they are currently stationed to prevent possible German attacks.
Secondly, the commanders and fighters rescued from the prisoner-of-war camps should be replenished into various units as soon as possible, so that everyone can seize the time to run in and increase coordination in combat. "
After Sokov finished handing over all the tasks, Samyko reminded him: "Comrade Commander, before the start of the battle, our entire army was equipped with new assault rifles sent by the Weapons and Equipment Department. But after this period of time, In battle, the attrition rate of assault rifles is very high. When will you contact the weapons and equipment department and ask them to replenish us with a batch of firearms so that all these rescued commanders and fighters can be armed."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I think what you are talking about is a bit difficult to handle." Sokov frowned and said to Samyko: "I called Colonel Yakov some time ago, and he told me that what we need Assault rifles, they won’t be delivered until at least mid-August.”
"Delivery in mid-August should be in time." Sameko said urgently: "Although we will launch a new attack on the enemy soon, according to my estimation, this battle will take at least half a month to arrive. If we can supply the goods in mid-August, we can just make up for the weapons lost on the battlefield."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think we can count on this batch of weapons."
"What, we can't count on this batch of weapons?" Sokov's words confused Samyko, and he asked puzzledly: "Comrade Commander, why is this?"
"The reason is simple. These newly added commanders and fighters have no experience in using new assault rifles. Even if they are equipped with these weapons, I am afraid it will be difficult for them to exert their due combat effectiveness on the battlefield."
