Chapter 1251 To break through or hold on?

  Sokov's troops and Marankin's Guards Division were defending a narrow area nine kilometers wide and fifteen kilometers deep. The German troops who joined forces outside Prokhorovka had already surrounded them.

  Sokov knew that the German army would be defeated by the numerically superior Soviet army within two days outside Prokhorovka, so he was not worried at all. But Marankin didn't think so. As soon as it was dark, he hurried to Sukov's temporary headquarters.

   "General Sokov," Marankin said anxiously upon seeing Sokov, "do you understand our current situation?"

   "What's the situation?" Sokov asked casually.

Seeing Sokov's bewildered expression, Marankin stamped his feet anxiously. He quickly came to the table, pointed to the map spread out on the table, and said to Sokov: "General Sokov, although we The 6th and 19th Armored Divisions of the German Army were blocked, but the Skeleton Division, the Banner Guard Division and the 7th Armored Division have already detoured to our rear. In other words, the troops of our two divisions have fallen into the encirclement of the German army among."

"That's right, our defensive position is indeed surrounded by the Germans." Sokov casually glanced at the map on the table, and said disapprovingly, "But what does it matter? limited, the encirclement they formed around us is full of loopholes, and it doesn't pose much of a threat to us at all."

"Due to the lack of troops, the Germans are indeed surrounded by loopholes everywhere." Marankin said anxiously: "But once they successfully captured Prokhorovka and turned around to attack us, I'm afraid we won't last two days at all."

Sokov did not expect Marankin to be so pessimistic. The troops are only formally surrounded by the German army. It is not difficult to break the siege. He tentatively asked: "General Marankin, what do you mean... ?”

"Break out, you must break out immediately." Seeing Sokov asking for his opinion, Marankin immediately replied without hesitation: "Because the German encirclement is not yet secure enough, we will break out in two ways. You lead the troops to the north." Break out, retreat to the Pusel River, and join your other troops. And I will lead the troops to break out south and join the main force of the 69th Army."

After hearing Marankin's proposal, Keida, who was standing aside, couldn't help but his eyes lit up. He felt that the other party's statement was correct. He should have taken advantage of the German army's attack on Prokhorovka and had not formed a real threat to his troops. Before closing the encirclement, take decisive action to break through the encirclement, so that you can successfully break through the German defense at a very small cost.

  But he glanced at Sokov who was looking down at the map, and swallowed the words again. Even though he and Marankin are both division commanders, Marankin belongs to a friendly army and is not under Sokov's jurisdiction. Even if what he said was wrong, Sokov would not say anything. Therefore, Keida could only look at Marankin for help, and kept hinting at the other party with his eyes, persuading Sokov to take a breakout action.

Marankin showed a faint smile after seeing Koida's expression. Instead of continuing to persuade Sokov to take a breakout, he said to Sokov, "General Sokov, about the breakout." , may I ask Colonel Koida's opinion?"

   Regarding Marankin's request, Sokov felt that it was not too much at all, so he readily agreed: "Yes."

   "Colonel Keida," Marankin coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and asked, "When do you think we should choose to break out?"

Koyda thought for a while and replied: "I think the breakout time should be around three o'clock in the morning. That's when people are most tired, and the Germans are no exception. They would never have thought that we would be here. At such a time, by taking a breakout operation by surprise, I believe that we will be able to break out of the enemy's encirclement with the least cost."

  Sokov couldn't help laughing when he heard the conversation between the two. He thought Marankin was very smart. When he asked Koida for his opinion, he didn't ask whether he should break out, but when he should break out. In this way, the breakout operation has become a certainty, the only difference is when to choose the breakout.

After Koyda expressed his opinion, seeing that Sokov did not speak, thinking that the other party did not object to the breakout, he asked enthusiastically: "Comrade commander, I think when the troops break through, you should have the final say. You Tell me, when should we break through."

"Judging from the current distribution of German troops, even if we break through now, it will not be easy for the enemy to keep us." Sokov said here, paused for a moment, and then continued: "But... "

When Sokov said the word "but", Keida couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart. He knew that Sokov might be against the breakout, but he didn't dare to say anything, so he could only listen to Sokov quietly. Cove went on to say: "I don't think we need to break out at all."

   "What, there is no need to break out?" Sokov's words left Marankin and Keida stunned. After a while, Marankin said cautiously: "General Sokov, if we don't take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the German troops are dispersed, we can quickly break through their encirclement and return to the main force. Wait until they capture Prokho Lovka City, if you turn around and come back to deal with us, our entire army will be in danger of being wiped out."

   "General Marankin, do you think the Germans can capture the city of Prokhorovka?" Sokov still said disapprovingly: "Since the enemy cannot capture our city, how could they turn around and attack us?"

"General Sokov, it seems that you are full of confidence in your friendly forces defending the city of Prokhorovka." Marankin went on to say, "No one can say for sure what will happen on the battlefield. If you really wait until Prokhorovka If the city of Lovka falls, it will be too late if we take another breakout action."

"General Marankin, I would like to remind you. Once both of our forces break out, the German 6th and 19th Armored Divisions, which are confronting us in the front, can quickly rush up to occupy the empty positions. .Once they occupy the position, they will definitely leave some troops behind, and then the main force will rush directly to the city of Prokhorovka. As far as I know, the defensive battle of the city of Prokhorovka is very difficult. The 19th Armored Division rushes over again, do you think our friendly forces can still hold the city?"

Marankin was shocked, and he was stunned. He only thought about how to let his troops jump out of the German encirclement as soon as possible, but he forgot to consider that once he gave up his position, the two German armored divisions who were confronting him would be able to escape. Drive straight in and rush directly outside the city of Prokhorovka, then the balance of victory will tilt towards the German army.

  After trying to understand this truth, Marankin took a deep breath, and then asked Sokov with a solemn expression: "General Sokov, what do you say, what should we do?"

"Breaking through the siege can indeed save us from the danger of being wiped out by the enemy. But as long as we break through, the battle in Prokhorovka will change." Sokov replied calmly: "Therefore, I think we should Hold your ground, and as long as we are here the enemy will have to leave two armored divisions to confront us, thus weakening their attack on Prokhorovka."

"I understand, General Sokov." Marankin had already made up his mind at this moment. He could not break through the siege, but must continue to hold on, so as to contain more enemies and relieve the pressure on the friendly forces who held on to the city of Prokhorovka. . However, he was cautious and asked Sokov cautiously: "General Sokov, how long do you think we need to hold on?"

"Three days," Sokov stretched out three fingers, and replied clearly: "Up to three days, the enemy who fails to attack Prokhorovka will definitely choose to retreat. At that time, we can fight with the counterattack troops. A front and back attack was carried out on the German army."

  (end of this chapter)