With Zhukov's promise, Sokov's worry about competing for credit was naturally solved.
After ending the call with Zhukov, Sokov smiled and confessed to Samyko: "Chief of Staff, immediately sent a telegram to Colonel Chuvashov, saying that the superiors planned to reorganize the two Marine Corps and Infantry Brigades into close combat units. Guard."
"Comrade Commander," Samyko heard this and hurriedly interrupted Sokov: "It is said that the Supreme Command has intentionally stopped granting new Guards division designations to the troops. Even if Comrade Marshal's commitment is obtained, I I'm worried that something will happen. If I tell them the news now, if it fails to be fulfilled, I'm worried that it will affect the morale and morale of the troops."
Sokov, who comes from the future, is very aware of the Soviet Guards division numbers. The last unit was the 129th Guards Division, which has only now been organized into the 97th Guards Division. There are still 30 division numbers available. Nothing to worry about.
Sokov waved his hand at Samyko and said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are worrying too much. Since Marshal Zhukov has made a promise to us, this little thing will not trouble him, so just follow my instructions." Order, send a telegram to Colonel Chuvashov and tell them the good news."
"Okay." Seeing Sokov being so stubborn and knowing that his persuasion would be of no use, Samyko nodded and said helplessly: "I will immediately send a telegram to Colonel Chuvashov to get this done." Tell him the news."
"Also," Sokov stopped Samyko and ordered him: "The two Marine Corps brigades must have paid a heavy price after fighting for such a long time. If they are not given additional troops, I am afraid that Unable to expand the results."
"Comrade Commander, nearly half of our troops have not yet entered the battle." After hearing what Sokov said, Sameko quickly asked: "Which troops do you plan to send to reinforce them?"
"Since Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov's infantry brigade will be merged with the Marine Corps brigade sooner or later, I think we should send the infantry brigade to reinforce Colonel Chuvashov and the others."
Samyko waited for Sokov to finish and then said with a smile: "It's really interesting. There are one colonel and two lieutenant colonels among the three brigade commanders. After the merger, Colonel Chuvashov, who has the highest military rank, will undoubtedly be The best candidates for the division commander. But the two lieutenant colonels Dobrushin and Uzakov can only serve as deputy division commander and chief of staff."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, the position of division commander is not necessarily held by the person with the highest military rank, but by the person with the strongest command ability." Sokov said with a smile: "In the battle to liberate Belgorod, we The candidate for the new Guards Division commander can be decided based on the performance of the three brigade commanders."
Sokov promptly announced to Chuvashov and Dobrushin that a new Guards Division was about to be formed, and the conflict between the two brigade commanders was immediately resolved. They are all members of the same army right away, and it doesn't make much difference which brigade's flag is planted on the top of the municipal building.
Knowing that the conflict between the two Marine Corps brigades had been resolved, Sokov couldn't help but feel relieved. Then, he ordered Chuvashov's troops and Major General Gritsenko's troops to stick to the actual control area to prevent possible German counterattacks. At the same time, he gave orders to the 84th, 188th and 254th Infantry Divisions to enter the battlefield through the gap opened by Chuvashov's department and launch an attack on the south side of the city.
Although the three infantry divisions received Sokov's order and entered the city in the evening, they still successfully captured two streets in the south direction of the city before dark and successfully established a foothold.
After dark, after reading all the battle reports, Sokov looked down at the map for a while, and then said to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, judging from today's battle situation, the results we have achieved are very great. . Not only have most of the areas in the west of the city been occupied by our army, they have even captured two streets in the south of the city."
"Comrade Commander, although our progress is very good, the performance of the friendly forces is not satisfactory." Sameko looked at the map and said with a worried look: "If they are unable to break through the German defenses, come over and fight with us. Let’s join together, I’m afraid that after dawn tomorrow, we will be attacked by the German army from multiple directions at the same time.”
Perhaps because he was worried that Sokov would not understand what he meant, Samyko also pointed to the map and explained to him in detail: "Comrade Commander, you see, the northernmost part of the area we control is Major General Gritsenko's 384th Infantry Division. In order to prevent them from reinforcing friendly forces in the northwest, the Germans may use armored divisions to counterattack. Chuvashov's department holding on to the city center may suffer counterattacks from the east..."
While listening to Samek's analysis, Sokov looked down at the map in front of him, pondering in his mind what his chief of staff said. He realized that after today's battle, he would definitely attract the attention of the Germans. In order to defend the city, the other party would definitely gather heavy troops and launch a counterattack against him. His troops would face great pressure tomorrow.
Thinking of this, he felt a little regretful that he should not have put all the troops except the 182nd Infantry Division into the battle in the city. After tapping his fingers on the table for a while, he raised his head and asked Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think the 182nd Infantry Division can fulfill their reserve obligations?"
"Comrade Commander," Samyko said with some surprise after hearing Sokov's question: "Are you planning to put them into tomorrow's battle?"
"Now all our troops are basically in the city." Sokov pointed to the map and explained to Sameko: "If tomorrow the Germans really counterattack our troops from several directions as you analyzed , I’m afraid we will have to face the situation of using the reserve team.”
"Comrade Commander, it's hard to talk about this matter. I think it's better to call Colonel Khokhlov and hear what he has to say."
Seeing Sokov nodding in agreement, Samyko grabbed the telegram on the table. After connecting to the headquarters of the 182nd Infantry Division, he asked straight to the point: "Colonel Khokhlov, Comrade Commander asked me to ask you a question. , if you put your troops into battle tomorrow, can you do it?"
Hearing Sameko's direct question, Khokhlov was silent for a while, and then replied: "Comrade Chief of Staff, after replenishing troops, the combat effectiveness of our division has been severely diluted. But if the superiors are prepared to let us participate in the battle, the offensive Probably not, but if we play defense, I think it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
"Comrade Commander." After listening to Khokhlov's answer, Samyko quickly covered the microphone with his hand and reported to Sokov: "Colonel Khokhlov said that if his troops are assigned to defensive tasks, there should be no What a big problem.”
Since adding a group of old and weak soldiers to Khokhlov's army, Sokov has basically excluded this unit from the combat sequence. Now it is considered that if the German army launches a strong counterattack, the troops in the city have no reserves, and it may be difficult to withstand the enemy's counterattack, so they plan to call in the reserves. Knowing that Khokhlov's troops were capable of defense tasks, Sokov's expression became relaxed. He nodded, smiled and said: "Since there is no big problem with them being used for defense, let Khokhlov Let the troops be prepared. Once necessary, he needs to put his troops on the battlefield in the shortest possible time."
As soon as the reserve team matters were taken care of here, Yakov hurried in from the outside. As soon as he saw Sokov, he said in a dissatisfied tone: "Misha, I have something to ask you."
After Sokov invited Yakov to sit down, he personally poured him a cup of hot tea, and then asked politely: "Yasha, if you have anything to do, just tell him."
"Misha, I'm here to tell you that after today's overloaded transportation, most hovercrafts need to undergo major repairs before they can be put back into use."
"Ah!" When Samyko heard what Yakov said, he couldn't help but said in surprise: "Colonel Yakov, can it still be used tomorrow? You know, we lack enough transportation tools now. Without the help of hovercraft, We were unable to get the ammunition and supplies our troops needed into the city in a timely manner."
"General Samyko," Yakov politely replied to Samyko: "I have just said that the hovercraft has exceeded its usage limit in today's battle. If it continues to be used without major repairs, it will soon be destroyed. Scrapped."
In order to prevent Sameko from continuing to persuade him, he also specifically emphasized: "The hovercraft is still in the testing stage. If it is scrapped because it exceeds the usage limit, I am worried that many people will be punished."
After hearing what Yakov said, Samyko immediately realized that his intention to continue transporting supplies by hovercraft tomorrow was ruined. He asked Sokov with a sad face: "Comrade Commander, what should we do?"
"Aren't the bridges on the river already occupied by us?" Sokov replied expressionlessly: "And the Corps of Engineers has also set up a pontoon bridge on the river for vehicles to pass. Even if there is no hovercraft, we can transport supplies in In the city, it’s just that the speed is relatively slower.”
Yakov came here to see Sokov just because he wanted to talk to him about the hovercraft. Since the purpose of coming here had been achieved, he was not prepared to stay any longer, so he stood up and said to Sokov: "Misha, what should I say?" , I have finished saying that, I will go back now to urge everyone to start the maintenance of the hovercraft. If anything happens to you, just send someone to find me, and I will rush over as soon as possible. "
After seeing Yakov off, Samyko shook his head vigorously and said with a wry smile: "Comrade Commander, everyone has just adapted to the speed of the hovercraft, and suddenly it can no longer be used. Will everyone feel disappointed?"
"Disappointment is inevitable," Sokov said, "but we cannot be disorganized just because the hovercraft cannot be used. When fighting the enemy before, there were no hovercrafts, but our logistics supplies could still keep up in time. I believe that starting from tomorrow, even without hovercrafts, our troops in the city will be able to receive sufficient supplies."
While Sokov and Samyko were studying how to provide supplies for the troops in the city, they had already retreated to Khot in Kharkov and made a phone call to Manstein: "Your Excellency, Marshal, according to the report of my subordinates, Sokov Cov's troops have occupied part of the west and south of the city, and our defenders in Belgorod are in danger of being cut off from their retreat."
After Manstein waited for Holt to finish speaking, he did not directly give the other party new instructions. Instead, he asked casually: "How is the progress of the Russian troops attacking from the northwest and north of Belgorod now?"
"Your Excellency, Marshal," when Manstein asked about the Soviet troops attacking from the northwest and north, Holt replied with some pride: "Although their offensive was very fierce, they pushed forward under the tenacious resistance of our army. The distance is very limited. I believe that as long as we launch a counterattack tomorrow, we can drive them out of the city."
In order to prevent Sameko from continuing to persuade him, he also specifically emphasized: "The hovercraft is still in the testing stage. If it is scrapped because it exceeds the usage limit, I am worried that many people will be punished."
After hearing Yakov's words, Samyko immediately realized that his intention to continue transporting supplies by hovercraft tomorrow was ruined. He asked Sokov with a sad face: "Comrade Commander, what should we do?"
"Aren't the bridges on the river already occupied by us?" Sokov replied expressionlessly: "And the Corps of Engineers has also set up a pontoon bridge on the river for vehicles to pass. Even if there is no hovercraft, we can transport supplies in In the city, it’s just that the speed is relatively slower.”
Yakov came here to see Sokov just because he wanted to talk to him about the hovercraft. Since the purpose of coming here had been achieved, he was not prepared to stay any longer, so he stood up and said to Sokov: "Misha, what should I say?" , I have finished saying that, I will go back now to urge everyone to start the maintenance of the hovercraft. If anything happens to you, just send someone to find me, and I will rush over as soon as possible. "
After seeing Yakov off, Samyko shook his head vigorously and said with a wry smile: "Comrade Commander, everyone has just adapted to the speed of the hovercraft, and suddenly it can no longer be used. Will everyone feel disappointed?"
"Disappointment is inevitable," Sokov said, "but we cannot be disorganized just because the hovercraft cannot be used. When we fought with the enemy before, there were no hovercrafts, but our logistics supplies could still keep up in time. I believe that starting from tomorrow, even without hovercrafts, our troops in the city will be able to receive sufficient supplies."
While Sokov and Samyko were studying how to provide supplies for the troops in the city, they had already retreated to Khot in Kharkov and made a phone call to Manstein: "Your Excellency, Marshal, according to the report of my subordinates, Sokov Cov's troops have occupied part of the west and south of the city, and our defenders in Belgorod are in danger of being cut off from their retreat."
After Manstein waited for Holt to finish speaking, he did not directly give the other party new instructions. Instead, he asked casually: "How is the progress of the Russian troops attacking from the northwest and north of Belgorod now?"
