Chapter 1286 The Final Battle

  As the left-wing troops entered the battle, the attack route changed from the original two routes on the left and right to three routes on the left, center and right. On the left is Marankin's Guards Division and Trufanov's tank unit; in the center is Koida's 188th Division and a tank brigade; on the right is Major General Gritsenko's 384th Division and two tank brigades , with a mechanized brigade.

  In front of the attacking troops on the left, there was only an infantry battalion and a tank company of the German army. In less than 20 minutes, the German defense line on the right side collapsed. The officers and soldiers who stood firm either died in battle or fled in all directions. Some officers and soldiers who felt that they could not escape simply put down their weapons and surrendered to the Soviet army.

  Vatutin has been paying attention to movements in this direction since he gave Marankin and Trufanov the offensive order. After learning that the troops on the left had successfully broken through the German defense line and wiped out most of the defenders within 20 minutes, they were taken aback for a moment, and then burst into laughter from ear to ear.

He took the battle report he had just received and said to Zhukov and Vasilevsky Deser: "Comrade Marshals, I really didn't expect that our troops could achieve such dazzling results as soon as they launched an offensive. Surprised."

"Comrade Vatutin," Zhukov said unhurriedly after Vatutin finished speaking, "Have you ever thought that the main force of the 19th Armored Division was attracted by the attack by Misha's troops, making the Your offensive frontal defense has become weak, and you can achieve such a huge victory in such a short period of time."

"Comrade Marshal," Vasilevsky was also very happy when he learned that the troops were progressing smoothly. He pointed to the map and said to Zhukov: "Since the troops on the left have successfully broken through the German defenses, it is time to encircle and annihilate the 19th Army." Armored Division, it seems that there is no big problem."

"Comrade Vasilevsky," Zhukov agreed with Vasilevsky's statement in his heart, but in order to avoid Vatutin's feeling of underestimating the enemy, he still kept a straight face. Said with an expression: "Although the enemy at this moment is like a wounded beast, we should not take it lightly. You must know that sometimes a wounded beast will become more vicious when it bites. We can't let a fight just because we underestimate the enemy. Uncertainty arises in a battle that must be won."

The troops broke through the German defenses within 20 minutes. Such a result made Vatutin somewhat complacent. After hearing Zhukov's reminder, he immediately realized that he was too optimistic. As long as the battle is not over, then there will be Lots of uncertainties.

After staring at the map for a while, he nodded and said, "Comrade Marshal, you are so right. Although we are about to encircle the 19th Armored Division, we may not be able to completely wipe them out." An easy thing."

Seeing Vasilevsky cast a puzzled look at himself, Vatutin continued to say: "Look, if Manstein realized that the 19th Armored Division might be wiped out, he could have put the 19th Armored Division in Oboyan to the ground. The Greater German Division in the area was called in for reinforcements. This unit is a division in name, but its organizational structure is equivalent to an army. Their combat effectiveness is far higher than that of the 19th Panzer Division. We will then face a fierce battle."

After listening to Vatutin's words, Zhukov and Vasilevsky stared at the map and pondered for a while. They felt that the possibility of Manstein sending reinforcements to the Grossdeutschland Division became more and more frequent as the 19th Panzer Division retreated. . Zhukov frowned and thought for a while, then turned to Vatutin and said, "Comrade Vatutin, you should inform Misha immediately that the 19th Armored Division is about to be annihilated, and that it is possible to receive reinforcements from the direction of Oboyan, so that the He must be vigilant and not be taken by the Germans."

   "Okay, Comrade Marshal, I will call Sokov immediately and remind him to pay attention to the enemy in the direction of Oboyan."

   A few minutes later, Sokov, who was directing the battle, received a call from Vatutin. After listening to the other party's reminder, he replied confidently: "Comrade general, please rest assured that I will closely monitor the movement of the German army and will never let them steal my way."

  As soon as Sokov put down the phone, Sameko couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Commander, what should we do if German reinforcements arrive when we encircle the 19th Armored Division?"

   Without waiting for Sokov to answer, he said on his own initiative: "Or, let's transfer troops from the Pushol River to strengthen the troops on the right wing, so that they have enough strength to deal with the enemies from two directions."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry." Sokov said to Sameko: "It is too late to transfer troops from the Pushol River area. The only thing we can do is to urge the troops below to speed up the attack and fight for In the shortest possible time, smash all the resistance of the German army. As long as the 19th Panzer Division is wiped out, even if the German army sends troops from the direction of Oboyan to come back for reinforcements, we are fully capable of blocking their counterattack."

"Now the offensive in the center is not going well." As the friendly forces on the left joined the battle, Sameko's name for the troops also changed. Unable to move forward, encircling and annihilating the 19th Armored Division becomes empty talk."

"This is easy." Sokov said with a smile: "Since the friendly forces on the left have already entered the battle, then we don't have to worry about the flanks and rear of the troops in the center. Chief of Staff, you immediately give the infantry brigade and the marine brigade The three brigade commanders called and ordered their troops to enter the battlefield immediately from the position of the 188th Division to attack those enemies who were still struggling."

   Speaking of this, Sokov paused, his eyes fixed on a location on the map, where the 182nd Division was stationed at the junction of the 188th Division and the 384th Division. After a short thought, he decisively gave an order to Sameko: "Call Colonel Khokhlov again and order his troops to go into battle immediately."

"Let the 182nd Division go into battle?" Sameko asked hesitantly: "Comrade Commander, they were attacked by the 19th Armored Division last night and suffered a lot of casualties, which somewhat affected the morale of the troops. .Is it appropriate to send them into battle at this moment?"

"Precisely because they were attacked by the German army last night, the commanders and fighters were full of evil fire in their hearts." Sukov said firmly: "If they are put into the battlefield now, the commanders and fighters of the whole division will definitely be able to put their troops on the battlefield." The combat effectiveness has been brought to the limit. I would like to see how long the 19th Armored Division can support under such circumstances?"

Sameko knew very well that the reason why Sokov wanted to put the 182nd Division into battle was probably because he wanted to vent his anger on Assia, so he said reasonablely: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will send the 182nd Division immediately Pass your order to the division commanders and brigade commanders below, and let them direct the troops into battle immediately."

"Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov greeted Lunev while Sameko was on the phone, "Assia and several health workers have been resting here for a long time. Since they don't have any problems, Let them return to the 182nd Division to participate in the final encirclement and annihilation battle."

"Comrade Commander," Lunev hastily persuaded Sokov to let Asiya and the health workers return to the 182nd Division, "What happened last night frightened them all. It seems better to let them stay here to rest and recuperate, there is no need to go back to participate in the battle."

"Comrade Military Commissar," Sokov looked around and saw Sameko, who was closest to him, busy calling the division commanders and brigade commanders. He couldn't notice himself for a while, so he lowered his voice to Lunev. Said: "In any case, the six of Asia and the others were captured by the German army. Now is the time for them to wash away their shame. If they miss it, I think it will be a lifelong regret for them."

"Okay, Comrade Commander, I think you have convinced me." It was difficult for Lunev to refute the reasons put forward by Sokov, so he could only say helplessly: "Then I will immediately arrange for people to send them back to No. The field hospital of the 182nd division."

   Lunev is quite considerate. He knows that in the past few months, Sokov and Asiya have been together less and more often. If what happened last night happened again, it is estimated that the two will be separated forever. Therefore, while arranging the vehicle, he personally brought Assia to the headquarters and asked her to have a few words with Sokov before leaving.

Seeing Asiya appearing in the headquarters, Sokov couldn't help being taken aback, but soon realized that it was Lunev's arrangement. He stepped forward and hugged Asiya, and said apologetically, "Asiya, what a shame! Sorry, not long after you came back, I have to send you to the battlefield again."

  Assia was very clear about Sokov's purpose in doing this, so she naturally wouldn't blame him, but instead said softly, "Misha, I'm leaving today, and I don't know when we will meet again next time."

"Don't worry, Assia." Sokov also felt that it was not appropriate to put his wife in the front-line combat troops. He was lucky last night and was only captured; if the German army attacked the field hospital next time, he would directly Shooting, I'm afraid Assia's chances of surviving are very slim. Therefore, he secretly made up his mind to keep Asiya by his side after the Battle of Kursk, or send her back to the military hospital in Moscow, "After the battle is over, I will arrange for you to stay in the hospital directly under the Army Group Work so we can spend time together."

"No, Misha, don't do this." Unexpectedly, Asiya rejected Sokov's kindness: "Actually, I think it's not bad to stay in the frontline army. I saw those wounded go back after my treatment. In the battlefield, I feel a sense of accomplishment in my heart. If I stay with you, I guess there will be fewer chances of surgery."

   Seeing that Asiya was unwilling to stay by his side, Sokov didn't persuade her either. He knew that no matter how much he persuaded her in the current situation, it would be difficult to have any effect. It's better to wait until the battle is over before it's too late to persuade them slowly.

After the two sat together and chatted for a while, Lunev came in from the outside, and he said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the car to the 182nd Division is ready, and I have arranged for two guard squads to **** , safety along the way should be fine."

Now that the vehicle was ready, Assia stood up and said to Sokov, "Misha, then I'm leaving now. When I'm not by your side, you should pay more attention to your body. Also, you are now a member of the Army Group Commander, you are no longer a brigade commander or division commander, don’t always play forward, if something happens to you, it will cause the troops to fall into chaos because of the loss of unified command..."

   "Understood, Assia." Sokov nodded with his eyes closed, and said, "I won't just go to the frontier until the end of the battle."

   After sending Asiya away, Sokov returned to his command post and asked Sameko bluntly: "Chief of Staff, have all the orders been issued to the troops?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander." Sameko quickly stood up and replied, "An infantry division, an infantry brigade, and two marine brigades can all be put into battle within half an hour."

   "Very good." Sokov thought to himself that he invested so much new troops at once, enough for the 19th Armored Division to drink a pot. I believe that it will not be long before our troops will be able to break through all the German defense lines and launch an encirclement and annihilation of the 19th Armored Division. As long as you annihilate the 19th Armored Division before Oboyan's German reinforcements arrive, you can take the initiative on the battlefield.

   "Comrade Commander," Lunev saw that Sokov was in a good mood at this time, and asked tentatively, "I would like to ask, after we annihilated the 19th Armored Division, what should we do next?"

"As long as the 19th Armored Division is annihilated by us, the initiative on the battlefield will be in our hands." Sokov said confidently: "Next, should we attack the enemy in the direction of Oboyan first, or should we attack Prokhorov? Enemies outside the city of Kaka, we have the final say."

   "Then what enemy do you think we should fight first?" Sameko asked.

"Our three armies are assembled outside the city of Prokhorovka, and one of them is a tank army. They are fully capable of defeating the enemies there, so there is no need for us to join in the fun." Sokov pointed to the map and told Sa Meko explained: "After we annihilate the 19th Panzer Division, we can cut off the retreat of the German army in the direction of Oboyan. At that time, if Manstein does not want his elite troops to fall into our encirclement, he can only choose to retreat. "

   "It makes sense, it makes sense." After this period of fighting, Sameko found that cutting off the German army's transportation lines was the most effective way to weaken the German army's combat effectiveness. If the German supply line in the Oboyan area is cut off after the 19th Armored Division is wiped out, it is not impossible to encircle and annihilate it.

Seeing Sameko staring at the map with bright eyes, Sokov knew that the other party was attracted by the cake he drew, so he quickly reminded them: "Whether it is to cut off the retreat of Oboyan's enemies, or to reinforce Pro The friendly forces outside the city of Holovka must wipe out General Schmidt’s 19th Armored Division before the German reinforcements arrive. Comrade Chief of Staff, do you understand what I mean?”

"I understand, Comrade Commander." Sameko and Sokov partnered for a long time, and immediately guessed what the other party wanted to express, and said quickly: "I will immediately call several division commanders and urge them to speed up the attack. , the 19th Panzer Division must be wiped out before the German reinforcements arrive."

  (end of this chapter)