With the annihilation of the German 255th Infantry Division, the fighting near Belgorod temporarily calmed down. Neither the Soviet Union nor Germany took the initiative to launch an attack, but was seizing the time to prepare for war.
Facing more and more Soviet troops and technical equipment gathered outside the city, Hott, who had just returned to Belgorod, ordered all officers and soldiers to race against time to repair fortifications and prepare to rely on the fortifications to resist possible Soviet attacks.
As for the Soviet army, they are mobilizing troops from different areas and rushing to the outskirts of Belgorod. As soon as the concentration of troops and technical equipment is completed, a new attack on Belgorod will be launched immediately.
During this period, Sokov was not idle. While moving his troops to the west of Belgorod, he constantly urged Yakov, hoping that he could send the weapons he needed as soon as possible.
When Yakov reported his work to Ustinov, he was originally worried that the other party would refuse. Unexpectedly, after listening to Yakov's report, Ustinov immediately said without hesitation: "Comrade Yakov, according to the original plan, we should send troops to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Guards on July 25. The 3rd Division provides newly produced assault rifles. Since Sokov is eager to use them, he might as well give these weapons to his group army first."
When Yakov came to Ustinov's office, he thought it would be great if he could help Sokov get 10,000 assault rifles. Unexpectedly, as soon as Ustinov opened his mouth, he directly gave him 30,000, which was beyond his expectation.
Just when Yakov was at a loss, he heard Ustinov say again: "Yakov, I think that in addition to assault rifles, Sokov also needs new rockets. How about it, he asked you How much does it cost?”
Yakov hurriedly replied: "He originally wanted two thousand new rockets and one hundred rocket launchers, but I refused."
"Why did you reject him?" Ustinov asked curiously: "You know, he asked you for these weapons and equipment to better attack the enemy."
"Comrade People's Commissar," Yakov said with a wry smile: "Nowadays, there are many troops who want to be equipped with new rockets. If I meet Sokov's request and provide them with two thousand new rockets, it means that I Quotas for other units will have to be cut. There will definitely be dissatisfaction."
"Yakov, if anyone is dissatisfied with the number of weapons we have allocated to Sokov's troops, you can ask him to come to me." Ustinov said confidently: "I will explain it to them personally. of."
Yakov did not expect that Ustinov would be so generous to Sokov's troops. He couldn't help being surprised and happy, and quickly asked: "Comrade People's Commissar, you mean that I can meet Sokov's request, for He provides two thousand new rockets?"
"No, how can two thousand be enough?" Ustinov waved his hands and said: "Our army will soon launch an attack on Belgorod. As far as I know, Sokov's troops will be on the offensive. If the main force does not have enough siege weapons, it will be very difficult for them to liberate the city from the enemy."
"Then how many new rockets do you think should be provided to Sokov?"
"Five thousand!" Ustinov opened his right hand and made a gesture to Yakov: "I think it is necessary to provide all of this more than a month's production to Sokov's troops to help them in the war. In the following battles, we will achieve even more glorious achievements.”
"Comrade People's Commissar," Yakov was a little surprised to see that Ustinov thought so highly of Sokov and asked, "Do you think so highly of Sokov?"
"Yakov, based on Sokov's consistent performance, I think he will have more dazzling performances in the battle to liberate Belgorod." Ustinov naturally had his reasons for doing this. As a member of the Supreme Command, he heard the bearded man say with his own ears that if his troops captured Belgorod, he would order a salute to be fired in Red Square in celebration.
As the People's Commissar in charge of the Department of Weapons and Equipment, Ustinov had no chance to go to the battlefield. But if in the battle to liberate Belgorod, Sokov's troops relied on the weapons he provided and established a brilliant record, he would naturally be able to take advantage of it. It was out of this consideration that he decisively decided to give priority to supplying various new weapons to Sokov's troops.
Yakov was deeply afraid that Ustinov would regret it, so he quickly took out a small book and wrote down: "Provide Sokov's 27th Army with 30,000 assault rifles, 5,000 new rockets, and 100 rocket launchers." After finishing writing, he handed the notebook to Ustinov and said politely, "Comrade People's Commissar, please sign it."
As long as Ustinov signs it, the matter is certain. In the future, even if someone is jealous that Sokov has been allocated so many new weapons and takes the lawsuit to the Supreme Command, as long as he takes out this piece of paper with Ustinov in front of him, the other party will have no choice but to be dissatisfied. Keep your mouth shut. If they make a fuss again, when allocating weapons in the future, they can be moved as far back as possible. After all the troops have been allocated, they can be considered last.
After getting Ustinov's signature, Yakov returned to his office excitedly. As soon as he sat down, he picked up the phone he was sitting on, dialed a number, and said to the operator: "Operator, pick me up from the 27th Army of the Voronezh Front and speak to the commander, Major General Sokov."
Although Yakov used a military line, he still waited for five or six minutes before getting through to Sokov's command post.
Sokov was convening a meeting with the commanders of each division to discuss some details of the capture of Belgorod. When the director of the communications corps said it was his call, he quickly stood up and walked over to take the phone: "I am Sokov, and you are Which one?"
"Misha, it's me!" Yakov's excited voice came from the receiver: "I'm Yakov!"
"Yasha, it turns out it's you!" After learning that the person who called him was Yakov, Sokov immediately thought that he had called him a few days ago, but until now, he has not seen the surprise attack promised by the other party. Rifles, new rockets and rocket launchers. Now that the other party took the initiative to call, Sokov naturally wanted to ask about the whereabouts of these weapons and equipment: "I want to ask, when will the weapons and equipment you promised to our group army be ready?"
"Misha, don't be anxious." Yakov said with a smile: "The purpose of my calling you today is to tell you that Comrade Ustinov has promised to give you supplies first."
"That's great." Although Sokov knew very well that Yakov's request for instructions and report from Ustinov was just a formality. As long as Yakov's proposal was not too excessive, Ustinov would basically Everyone will agree. At this moment, he learned that the distribution of weapons and equipment had been approved by Ustinov. He quickly asked: "When will the weapons and equipment be delivered to us? You know, we may launch an attack on Belgorod at any time. Attack, if your weapons cannot be delivered in time, I can only let my soldiers attack the enemy with bare hands."
"Misha, actually I have wanted to transport weapons to you for a long time." Yakov naturally would not tell Sokov. Since Ustinov was not in the weapons and equipment department some time ago, he did not have the right to directly give it to Sokov. Shipment will be delayed until today to report to Ustinov. Fortunately, things went relatively smoothly. Not only did the other party easily agree to my proposal, but they even doubled the quantity they needed. "However, Ustinov personally adjusted the quantity, and we had to re-review it, which delayed the transportation time."
Sokov was unaware that Ustinov was trying to woo him through the distribution of weapons. Hearing Yakov say that Ustinov personally changed the number of weapons supplied to him, he couldn't help but feel half cold, but he still had to bite the bullet and asked: "Yasha, don't beat around the bush, just tell me the truth, People's Commissar To what extent have comrades reduced the number of our weapons?"
"Cut? No, no, no, you made a mistake. It's not a cut, it's an increase for you."
"What, the number of weapons has not been reduced, but instead increased?"
"Yes." Yakov did not show off and explained to Sokov: "Originally, I thought I could provide you with up to 10,000 assault rifles, 1,000 new rockets and 100 rocket launchers. But the People's Commissar listened. After my report, I generously increased the number of assault rifles and new rockets you have learned from the original 10,000 and 1,000 to 30,000 and 5,000."
"Ah, the number of assault rifles will be increased to 30,000, and the number of new rockets will be increased to 5,000?" The number reported by Yakov shocked Sokov, and he asked cautiously: "Yasha, what did you say?" Is it all true?"
The division commanders sitting not far away were very familiar with assault rifles and new rockets. Before they came to the meeting, they had thought in their minds that they must mention to Sokov during the meeting that the weapons of their troops had suffered a lot of losses in the early battles, and they hoped that he could replenish them.
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However, after the meeting began, Major General Fomenko, commander of the 84th Infantry Division, raised a question and was flatly rejected by Sokov: "Comrade General, I know that the loss of assault rifles in each division is very serious. But can superiors give me some advice?" We are replenishing it, but it is still unknown when it will be replenished."
The division commanders knew very well that Sokov was telling the truth. Assault rifles are currently only installed by the 27th Army. Although the commanders and fighters of other units have heard of this weapon, they have never had a chance to see it. In addition, this kind of weapon uses special bullets, and the production cycle is longer than other weapons, so it is not easy to get replenishment.
But now when I heard Sokov talking to others on the phone, he mentioned that his superiors would replenish him with 30,000 assault rifles. The commanders of each division began to think aloud, secretly calculating how many assault rifles their troops could get from it. .
By the way, in addition to 30,000 assault rifles, there are also 5,000 new rockets. Distributed according to the number of the entire group army's fifth division and three brigades, each unit can be allocated almost 600 pieces. With so many new rockets, when attacking Belgorod, it is possible to cover the enemy with firepower in local areas and blow up those enemies who are stubbornly resisting to nothing.
After making the call, Sokov returned to the conference table and saw all the commanders looking at him. He immediately realized that the conversation between himself and Yakov had been heard by these commanders participating in the meeting, so he He smiled and asked: "Did you all hear the call I just had with Colonel Yakov?"
"I heard it!" everyone replied in unison.
"Okay, now that you have all heard it, the rest will be easy to handle." Sokov said to everyone: "How to distribute these weapons, I will discuss with the chief of staff later and give them to each division and brigade. Set a reasonable quota." As soon as he said this, he saw many people frowning. He immediately realized what the other person was worried about, so he added, "Don't worry, I will try my best to remain fair and will never let anyone Any unit suffers."
Sokov's words were a reassurance for everyone, and everyone no longer worried about the distribution of weapons and equipment, and once again began to discuss some details of capturing Belgorod.
"Comrade Commander," Samyko pointed to the map and said to Sokov: "There is a river to the west of Belgorod, with a width of 150 meters and a depth of about three meters. There is only a cement building on the river. The bridge can be passed, but the enemy has deployed heavy troops on both sides of the bridge. How can we send scouts across the river to conduct reconnaissance in the city?"
Before Sokov answered the phone, everyone was discussing this vexing issue. Since the enemy constantly illuminated the river with searchlights, it was difficult for the scouts to escape being discovered by the German searchlights, regardless of whether they were rowing or swimming.
"Comrade Commander," Major General Gritsenko stood up and said to Sokov: "I think we can send out several groups of reconnaissance teams. They will cross the river at the same time. Even if they are discovered by the enemy and are fired by machine guns, there will always be a small team. Able to break through the enemy's fire network and successfully reach the other side."
"No, Major General Gritsenko, your approach is not advisable." As soon as Gritsenko finished speaking, Samyko retorted: "If we do this, not only will the reconnaissance team sent out suffer heavy casualties. , and it will also expose our intentions. I think your method is unreliable."
"How about we let the scouts dress up as Germans and find a way to pass out from the bridge?" Koida, commander of the 188th Division, said tentatively: "You know, Comrade Commander has adopted the same method many times before. He cleverly deceived the enemy and successfully carried out his mission deep behind enemy lines."
"The Germans know that we will attack Belgorod sooner or later, so the checks at each checkpoint are naturally extremely strict." Sokov shook his head and said: "Even if our commanders and soldiers dress up as German officers and soldiers, if they want to pass these checkpoints smoothly, they must And without being discovered by the Germans, I think it’s basically impossible.”
