Shortly after Konev left, the high-frequency phone in front of Sokov rang.
He picked up the phone and put it to his ear, and Zhukov's familiar voice came from the receiver: "Misha, I heard that your troops have successfully captured the riverside positions to the west of the city. This is true. ?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sukov guessed that it was Konev who reported to Zhukov, so he answered truthfully: "My troops have successfully occupied the riverside position on the west side of the city, and now the assault troops are heading towards Sports in town.”
"Misha, how did your troops capture the enemy's position in such a short period of time?"
Seeing that Zhukov was so curious, Sokov gave him a detailed report on how his troops captured the enemy's position.
"So that's what happened." After Zhukov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, a new idea came to his mind: "Misha, I think about it this way. As soon as the shelling of the Steppe Front Army and the Voronezh Front Army ends, there will be Launch an attack on the enemy. At that time, you will send troops up the river to attack the enemies who are entrenched along the river, so that the friendly forces can cross the river smoothly."
Sokov felt that Zhukov's proposal was correct. When the friendly forces started to cross the river, his troops would attack from behind the enemy. The enemies who were attacked from both sides would be quickly eliminated. At that time, the friendly forces could successfully cross the river and launch an attack on the city.
After understanding this truth, Sokov replied readily: "Comrade Marshal, please rest assured that I will definitely help the friendly forces cross the river smoothly."
Zhukov had always trusted Sokov. When he heard what he said, he nodded with satisfaction and put down the phone.
After Sokov ended his call with Zhukov, he turned to Samyko and asked: "Chief of Staff, have our second echelon troops started crossing the river?"
Upon hearing Sokov's question, Samyko took out a small book and looked at it for a few times before replying: "A regiment of Major General Gritsenko's 384th Infantry Division has successfully crossed the river."
"Marshal Zhukov called me and asked us to launch an attack from behind the enemy holding the river bank position when the friendly forces launch a cross-river operation to cover the friendly forces crossing the river." Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch and continued: "The distance to the friendly forces is now When the bombardment is over and there are still ten minutes left, you immediately send a telegram to Major General Gritsenko and order him to send the troops who have completed crossing the river up the river, wait for the friendly forces to force the crossing, and launch a surprise attack from the enemy's rear."
Sameko glanced down at the map, nodded and said: "Comrade Marshal is very thoughtful. When the friendly forces are crossing the river, as long as they can get our support, they will easily cross the river and launch an attack on the city. .”
Having said this, he raised his head and looked at Sokov and continued: "As long as the friendly forces can successfully cross the river and rush into the city as soon as possible to fight the enemy, the resistance we encounter can be reduced."
"Yes, I think about it this way." Sokov clicked on the map of Belgorod with his hand and said: "If the enemy blocks the friendly forces on the other side of the river, then their defenders in the city , they can concentrate their energy on dealing with us. In this way, we will pay a huge price for every building and every street we capture."
"I immediately sent a telegram to Major General Gritsenko, ordering his troops not to participate in the attack on the city for the time being, but to turn north." After Samyko said this, he added: "But I think a regiment The troop strength may be a bit low, should we wait until all the 384th Division crosses the river before pressing them all up?"
Regarding Samyko's proposal, Sokov stared at the map and pondered for a while, and then replied: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, just follow your wishes and speed up the transportation of troops before the friendly forces attack. Attack the enemy early.”
Just as Sokov and Samyko were mobilizing their troops to go north and preparing to help the friendly forces cross the river, Hott, who was in charge of commanding the troops in the city, realized the seriousness of the problem. He quickly called Manstein and said anxiously: "Your Majesty Marshal. , the Russian shelling on us has not stopped, but Sokov's troops in the west of the city launched an attack unexpectedly. So far, all the river positions in the west of the city have been lost, and Sokov's troops have entered the city from the west and are on the way. A fierce battle began between the fruit cannery and the holding 332nd Infantry Division."
"General Huot," Manstein learned that Sokov's troops did not respect military ethics and launched an attack before the bombardment was over. He even rushed into the fruit cannery in the west of the city. He was a little anxious and quickly ordered He said to Holt in a tone of voice: "Immediately order the armored division to launch a counterattack against them. We must drive them all out of the city in the shortest possible time."
"Marshal, I cannot send out armored troops." After hearing Manstein's order, Holt said helplessly: "The Russian shelling has not completely stopped. Once they find out that our army has dispatched tanks, they will definitely They will turn their guns to attack our tanks first. I'm worried that the tank troops will be wiped out by Russian artillery fire before they can reach the cannery."
"Your Excellency, Marshal," after Huot said his difficulties, he paused for a moment, and then said: "In order to save the defeat, I implore you to dispatch the air force to bomb the Russian artillery positions. In this way, the Russians will not be able to If we don’t stop shelling the city, I can send armored divisions to the west of the city for reinforcements.”
In order to save the defeat, Manstein immediately called the Air Force after explaining his conversation with Holt and ordered them to immediately dispatch bombers to bomb the Soviet artillery positions.
When Huot's chief of staff, General Merinjin, heard that Manstein had promised to send out air force support, he asked Huot for instructions: "Your Excellency, Commander, the one we have closest to the west of the city is the 6th Armored Division, but even if they are dispatched, it will not be possible." Whether we can repel the attack by Sokov’s troops is still a question.”
"Why?" Holt asked puzzled.
Merinjin shrugged his shoulders and said with a wry smile: "Half a month ago, the 6th Armored Division followed your order to advance in the direction of Prokhorovka to reinforce the Kef Combat Group, but they and the 19th Armored Division They were stubbornly blocked by Sokov's troops. The battle lasted for four or five days. Not only did they not advance a step forward, but they also suffered huge casualties. In the end, they had to withdraw to rest. With such a broken army, they were going to meet the enemy who had defeated them. Sokov’s troops, I think the soldiers and officers must have psychological barriers. Maybe even before the firefight begins, their morale will be unstable.”
"Chief of Staff, I don't deny that the situation you said will occur during the battle. But have you ever thought about it, if we don't send the 6th Armored Division for reinforcements, we just rely on the 332nd Infantry Division to fight against Sokov's troops in the west of the city? How long can they sustain the offense?"
Mei Linjin asked tentatively: "Perhaps we can mobilize other armored divisions from other directions to strengthen the defense in the west of the city?"
"It's useless, my chief of staff." Hot shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Sokov's troops launched an attack from the west of the city. They only carried out artillery bombardment for an hour, but the Russian troops northwest and due north of the city , the artillery preparations have lasted for nearly two hours. It can be seen that if they launch a ground attack, they will be much stronger than Sokov's troops. Therefore, we must focus our defense on the northwest and north of the city. , the armored divisions deployed in these two directions cannot be used casually under any circumstances."
"Okay, Commander." Hearing that Hott had already said this, Merlinjin had no choice but to say: "I will immediately contact the 6th Armored Division and order them to prepare to move to the west of the city."
Commanders and fighters from two Marine brigades rushed into the fruit cannery in the west of the city and launched an attack on the troops of the German 332nd Infantry Division who were defending the factory.
The enemy exchanged fire very frequently. They hid in the strong factory building and used machine guns to shoot at the commanders and fighters who rushed into the factory area. Since there was an open area in front of the factory without any obstructions, the commanders and fighters who were not carrying heavy weapons were suppressed by firepower and were unable to move forward.
Knowing that his troops had been intercepted by German firepower, Dobrushin quickly came to the front to observe the situation. He saw clearly that the enemy had built fortifications in solid factories. He quickly called a company commander and asked: " Comrade Captain, the enemy's fire has blocked our way forward, do you think you can use rocket launchers to destroy the enemy's fire points?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander, I think this is very difficult." The company commander said to Dobrushin: "Look, the distance from where we are hiding to the enemy's firepower point is more than five hundred meters, and the range of our rocket launchers It's only more than a hundred meters away, so you can't hit the enemy at all." Just as Sokov and Samyko were mobilizing their troops to move north and prepare to help the friendly troops cross the river, Hott, who was in charge of commanding the troops in the city, realized the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly Talking to Manstein, he said anxiously: "Your Majesty Marshal, the Russian artillery fire on us has not stopped, but Sokov's troops in the west of the city launched a surprise attack. So far, all the river positions in the west of the city have been lost. , Sokov’s unit has entered the city from the west and is engaged in a fierce battle with the holding 332nd Infantry Division at the fruit cannery.”
"General Huot," Manstein learned that Sokov's troops did not respect military ethics and launched an attack before the bombardment was over. He even rushed into the fruit cannery in the west of the city. He was a little anxious and quickly ordered He said to Holt in a tone of voice: "Immediately order the armored division to launch a counterattack against them. We must drive them all out of the city in the shortest possible time."
"Marshal, I cannot send out armored troops." After hearing Manstein's order, Holt said helplessly: "The Russian shelling has not completely stopped. Once they find out that our army has dispatched tanks, they will definitely They will turn their guns to attack our tanks first. I'm worried that the tank troops will be wiped out by Russian artillery fire before they can reach the cannery."
"Your Excellency, Marshal," after Huot said his difficulties, he paused for a moment, and then said: "In order to save the defeat, I implore you to dispatch the air force to bomb the Russian artillery positions. In this way, the Russians will not be able to If we don’t stop shelling the city, I can send armored divisions to the west of the city for reinforcements.”
In order to save the defeat, Manstein immediately called the Air Force after explaining his conversation with Holt and ordered them to immediately dispatch bombers to bomb the Soviet artillery positions.
When Huot's chief of staff, General Merinjin, heard that Manstein had promised to send out air force support, he asked Huot for instructions: "Your Excellency, Commander, the one we have closest to the west of the city is the 6th Armored Division, but even if they are dispatched, it will not be possible." Whether we can repel the attack by Sokov’s troops is still a question.”
"Why?" Holt asked puzzled.
Merinjin shrugged his shoulders and said with a wry smile: "Half a month ago, the 6th Armored Division followed your order to advance in the direction of Prokhorovka to reinforce the Kef Combat Group, but they and the 19th Armored Division They were stubbornly blocked by Sokov's troops. The battle lasted for four or five days. Not only did they not advance a step forward, but they also suffered huge casualties. In the end, they had to withdraw to rest. With such a broken army, they were going to meet the enemy who had defeated them. Sokov’s troops, I think the soldiers and officers must have psychological barriers. Maybe even before the firefight begins, their morale will be unstable.”
"Chief of Staff, I don't deny that the situation you said will occur during the battle. But have you ever thought about it, if we don't send the 6th Armored Division for reinforcements, we just rely on the 332nd Infantry Division to fight against Sokov's troops in the west of the city? How long can they sustain the offense?"
Mei Linjin asked tentatively: "Perhaps we can mobilize other armored divisions from other directions to strengthen the defense in the west of the city?"
"It's useless, my chief of staff." Hot shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Sokov's troops launched an attack from the west of the city. They only carried out artillery bombardment for an hour, but the Russian troops northwest and due north of the city , the artillery preparations have lasted for nearly two hours. It can be seen that if they launch a ground attack, they will be much stronger than Sokov's troops. Therefore, we must focus our defense on the northwest and north of the city. , the armored divisions deployed in these two directions cannot be used casually under any circumstances."
"Okay, Commander." Hearing that Hott had already said this, Merlinjin had no choice but to say: "I will immediately contact the 6th Armored Division and order them to prepare to move to the west of the city."
The commanders and fighters of the two Marine Corps brigades rushed into the fruit cannery in the west of the city and launched an attack on the troops of the German 332nd Infantry Division who were stationed in the factory.
The enemy exchanged fire very frequently. They hid in the strong factory building and used machine guns to shoot at the commanders and fighters who rushed into the factory area. Since there was an open area in front of the factory without any obstructions, the commanders and fighters who were not carrying heavy weapons were suppressed by firepower and were unable to move forward.
Knowing that his troops had been intercepted by German fire, Dobrushin quickly came to the front to observe the situation. He saw clearly that the enemy had built fortifications in solid factories. He quickly called a company commander and asked: " Comrade Captain, the enemy's fire has blocked our way forward, do you think you can use rocket launchers to destroy the enemy's fire points?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander, I think this is very difficult." The company commander said to Dobrushin: "Look, the distance from where we are hiding to the enemy's firepower point is more than five hundred meters, and the range of our rocket launchers It’s only over a hundred meters away, so we can’t hit the enemy at all.”
