Chapter 1243 Consolidate the line of defense

   After more than three hours of rapid march, the Goryachkin regiment finally arrived at the designated location.

  Seeing Goryachkin's arrival, Sokov hugged him warmly and said loudly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I thought you would not arrive until dawn at the earliest."

   "Comrade Commander," Goryachkin replied respectfully: "General Sameko said that the situation here is quite dangerous, so he ordered our regiment to rush over to support you as soon as possible without waiting for it to get dark."

   Seeing that Goryachkin was the only one present in the headquarters, Koyda couldn't help but asked with some concern, "Is your regiment the only one?"

   "Of course not, Comrade Colonel." Goryachkin quickly replied: "When we set off, another regiment was still gathering and gathering troops. They will probably arrive a few hours later than us."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you came in time." The situation on the battlefield today was more serious than Sokov expected. He called Goryachkin to the map and said to him: "After the enemy breaks through the defense line of the 305th Division on the right, , the 658th regiment we deployed here was also repulsed by the enemy. Now the enemy is threatening our safety from the right wing. Since your regiment has come, immediately launch a counterattack against them and try to recover the lost position."

"No problem." Goryachkin replied: "Since our regiment withdrew from the Shumakovo area, we have never had a chance to engage the enemy. They will be very happy if important tasks are entrusted to our regiment.”

"The morale of the troops is very high, which is very good." In order to let Goryachkin understand the importance of the right-wing position, Sokov specially emphasized: "If the enemy can gain a firm foothold on our right flank, they can Simultaneously attacking us from two directions, we are overwhelmed. Even if the enemy on the flank does not attack, they can leave a small force to watch us, and then the main force will pass through the gap between us and the Pushol River to the east. Advancing on Prokhorovka to join German forces coming from other directions."

Sokov's narration made Goryachkin realize the importance of restoring the right-wing position. He straightened his back quickly and assured Sokov: "Comrade Commander, please rest assured that we will definitely get back to you in the shortest possible time. , to restore the positions occupied by the enemy."

"You must be carrying a lot of new rockets and rocket launchers, right?" Sokov said to Goryachkin: "If we want to regain our position from the enemy in the shortest possible time, then we must not be stingy. These weapons, even if they are all used up, are totally worth it."

  Sokov said this because he knew that the German army could not last two days in this area. Only by inflicting pain on the enemy could we completely avoid the stalemate in the late stage of the war.

  Goryachkin was skeptical of Sokov's order, but he didn't dare to refute it easily, but agreed wholeheartedly. Before leaving the command post, he stopped, turned to Sokov and said, "Comrade Commander, Asya came with our regiment." Probably worried that Sokov would blame himself, he specifically explained, " I tried my best to persuade her to stay, but she still insisted on coming, and I had no other choice, so I reluctantly agreed."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Sokov didn't expect Assia to come to such a dangerous place at this time, he was silent for a while, put his hand on Goryachkin's shoulder, and said to him: " She is actually an assistant military doctor, so it is normal to come to the front line to perform surgery on the wounded." Having said this, he paused for a while, and then said slowly, "Since she is in your regiment now, I will trouble you a lot." Take care of her, and it's best not to let her have any accidents."

   "Comrade Commander," Goryachkin breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Sokov didn't blame himself, and asked tentatively, "Aren't you going to see her?"

"She and I both have our own work to do." Although Sokov wanted to see Asiya in his heart, it was obviously inappropriate to meet under the current situation. He could only say with a wry smile, "As long as we hold the position , there are plenty of chances to meet you."

   Just after Sokov finished speaking, he suddenly remembered that Asiya's assistant was Rokossovsky's daughter Ada, and asked quickly, "Ada didn't follow?"

   "No." Goryachkin shook his head and replied, "I only allowed Assia to come here with us on the condition that I persuaded Ada to stay."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are doing the right thing." Sokov couldn't help but secretly heaved a sigh of relief when he learned that Ada had stayed on the Pusol River defense line. He gently pushed Goryachkin on the back with his hand. One, said: "Now, you go back to your own troops."

After Goryachkin left, Koyda asked Sokov with some concern: "Comrade Commander, if the Goryachkin regiment is allowed to counterattack the German army, I am afraid it will pay a high price. Once they appear huge casualties, then our defensive forces will face shortages.”

   "Don't worry," Sokov comforted Koida and said, "The troops who came to reinforce this time, in addition to the Goryachkin regiment, there is another full regiment. You don't have to worry about insufficient troops."

   Goryachkin returned to his troops, immediately called a meeting of the three battalion commanders, and assigned them the task of counterattacking. At the beginning of the operation, the new rockets flew to the enemy's position overwhelmingly as if it cost nothing, blowing it into a sea of ​​flames.

The reason why the German army holding on to the position was able to seize the position from the 658th regiment was entirely because the Soviet army ran out of new rockets, and even the anti-tank fighters were sacrificed, so that they could not stop the German army. attack. Now the explosion of the new rockets covered the entire position, and the Germans were blown up immediately.

  Seeing the Soviet army launching an attack, several tanks with burning flames on their bodies, just rushed out of their hiding places, and were destroyed by the anti-tank fighters hiding nearby with rocket launchers. The German infantry on the ground had been dazed by the new rocket bombs, but now seeing that the tanks they could rely on were almost wiped out by the Soviet army, they immediately lost their fighting spirit. Facing the charging Soviet commanders and fighters, they only gave up their position after a symbolic resistance for a while, and fled back in a panic.

  Knowing that the position on the right wing has been regained, Sokov feels a little relieved in his heart. In this way, his defense line has been consolidated. Before the Fifth Guards Tank Army launched a full-scale counterattack, its own troops could rely on the existing fortifications to resolutely resist the onslaught of the German army.

  (end of this chapter)