"Sorry, Comrade General." Unexpectedly, Sokov replied coldly to Apaneseko's order, "Please forgive me for not being able to execute your order."
Sokov's words shocked everyone present. According to everyone's understanding, after hearing Apaneseko's order, shouldn't Sokov immediately start to dispatch troops and launch an assault on the German army that broke through the defense line?
"Comrade Sokov, do you know what you are doing?" Seeing that Sokov refused to execute his order, Apaneseko seemed particularly annoyed: "Do you know you are disobeying your order? I can send you to the military court at any time."
If it were someone else, he would have been scared to death and surrendered obediently when he heard Apanashenko say this. Even if he knew that Apanashenko's order was wrong, he would have bitten the bullet and executed it. But Sokov said in a humble manner: "Comrade General, we don't know what the enemy's troops are in the line of defense are now, and what kind of weapons and equipment are there, so we rashly launch a counterattack, which is to let my soldiers die. And once the counterattack fails and the enemy is pouring towards here, what kind of troops do we use to block them?"
The commanders of the 182nd Division were very moved when they heard Sokov explain the reason for his disobedience. They knew very well that Sokov was using his future to save their lives. However, everyone was immediately worried about Sokov's future fate, after all, he was disobeying.
Sokov saw everyone's concerns and continued: "Comrade General, although your military rank is higher than mine, you are not my direct leader after all. I have the right not to implement the orders you gave."
Everyone thought that Apaneseko would be furious after listening to Sokov. But Apaneseko didn't say anything. He picked up the cigarette box on the table, took out a cigarette from it, lit it, took a deep breath, and said to Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, it seems that you have considered all the consequences long ago."
"Yes, comrade General, I have considered the consequences of disobedience." Sokov said seriously: "But if I execute your order at this moment and let the troops rush to fight back, the final result may be that the enemy was not repelled, but our army suffered heavy losses. Once the enemy takes the opportunity to advance, there will be no troops that can stop them."
"Are you going to watch the enemy break through our army's defense line?"
"We will firmly block the enemy's progress in the Shumakovo region." Sokov replied firmly: "We will never let them get closer to Moscow."
"If the enemy successfully breaks through our army's defense line in the direction of Oboyang and continues to increase its military strength, do you think that with your little force, can you block the enemy's attack?"
"I believe we can do this." After Sokov said this, seeing Apaneseko's face full of doubts, he asked him to come to the map and explain to him: "Comrade General, look at the terrain here, it is not conducive to the development of large-scale armored troops. The Germans obviously realized this, so they will not invest too many tanks in our direction. As long as the number of tanks the enemy put in is limited, then I will have confidence to block the enemy."
"Then tell me, in what direction will the Germans invest a lot of armored forces?"
Sokov thought that Vatutin might have a clear idea of ​​the German attack direction. He said the so-called analysis at this moment. Even if he learned through Apaneseko, it would not arouse any doubts. He said boldly: "I think the Germans will put all their armored troops into Prokhorovka. The terrain here is flat and the large-scale mechanized troops will be launched immediately. Moreover, our army's defense is not strong. If I were the German commander, I would put the main assault force here."
"Prokholovka?!" Apanashenko stared in the direction Sokov said for a while, then turned his head and asked, "Comrade Sokov, are you really sure that the enemy will place the main assault force in this area?"
"Yes, comrade General," Sokov replied, "The chances are very high."
"Major," Apanashenko immediately ordered his adjutant after receiving a definite answer from Sokov, "Contact the headquarters immediately, and I will report this important information to Comrade Vatujing immediately."
The major quickly ordered the accompanying soldiers to move a telephone into the division headquarters and began to speak in Ming. Sokov couldn't help but feel a slap in his heart when he heard the other party in Ming. He quickly reminded Apanashenko, "Comrade General, you can't speak in Ming. This is possible for the Germans to eavesdrop on it."
But Apaneseko waved his hand and said disapprovingly: "The time it takes now, the enemy will hear it."
The radio station soon contacted Watujing. When he heard Watujing's voice coming from his headphones, Apanashenko said to the sender: "Comrade Watujing, I am now in the command of a friendly army. I just got an information to inform you."
"What information?"
"According to Major General Sokov, commander of the 27th Army, the German army who broke through our army's defense line in Oboyan may turn the main force of their armored forces to the Prokhorovka region..."
"Comrade Deputy Commander," Vatujing asked lukewarmly: "I want to ask, where did you hear this kind of information?"
Apanathenko glanced at Sokov who was standing next to him and replied: "General Vatujing, I have just said that it is an analysis made by Major General Sokov, commander of the 27th Army..."
"It seems that his analysis is correct. Judging from the direction of the assembly of the German armored forces, an assault on the Prokhorovka region is inevitable." Vatutin may have noticed that there is a possibility of leaking information in the use of Ming language. Therefore, when he said this, he said tactfully: "Comrade Deputy Commander, some things are hard to say on the phone. You should go back to the headquarters as soon as possible. I will tell you the details."
Although Apanathenko was not willing to return to the headquarters at this time, no matter what, Vatukin was his current immediate boss. He asked him to go back and really had to go back. After finishing the call with Vatukin, he said to Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, I want to go back to the Front Command. I hope you can remember what you just said and must block the enemy who broke through our defense."
"Don't worry, comrade General." Sokov looked at Apaneseko, who would die in a few days, and said with a serious expression: "We will do our best to block the enemy's attack."
After seeing Apanathenko off, Sokov began to assign tasks to Khokhlov and others: "...Add anti-tank firepower on the hills on both sides of the road. After the enemy's tanks enter the ambush circle, they will use the bazooka to destroy it... The mission of your division is to do everything possible to delay the German advancement speed and consume their living power."
"Comrade Commander, I have a question." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, the Chief of Staff raised his hand and asked, "What should we do if you are not here and General Apanashenko comes here to issue orders again?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov looked at the Chief of Staff with a serious expression: "I remind you to remember that I am the commander of the 27th Army, not General Apanashenko. It is me who commands the troops, not him, so not only he gives you any orders, you can do nothing. If the superiors want to hold you accountable in the future, I will bear the series of consequences caused by this."
When Sokov said this, he thought to himself that Apaneseko's life was less than a month left. Even if he wanted to deal with him, he would have to wait until the end of the Battle of Kursk. By then, he would have been in a state of nothing at all, and he would have no need to worry.
Seeing that Sokov was willing to take all the responsibilities, Khokhlov and others felt much more at ease. To be honest, one was an old commander who was promoted to general before the war, and the other was his boss on his head. They were also embarrassed to be stuck in the middle.
While the Chief of Staff was assembling defensive tasks for each regiment, Khokhlov tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, how do you plan to arrange them after the subsequent troops arrive? Are you going to let them continue to build fortifications in the north?"
"There is no need for this." Sokov shook his head and said, "When the follow-up troops arrive, your division can hand over some of the defense zones to them. After you narrow the front of the defense, you can draw troops to form a reserve force and play a greater role in the later stage of the battle."
"Comrade Commander, how long do you think this battle will last?" Khokhlov heard Sokov use the word battle of battle, and immediately thought of the Stalingrad that had just ended half a year ago, and asked tentatively: "Three months or five months?"
Sokov thought that the entire battle lasted only more than fifty days, which was far from comparable to the 200 days of the Stalingrad defense battle, so he said easily: "Don't worry, not only is this battle so fierce, it will definitely end before September."
"What, it can end before September?" Khochlov said in surprise: "I thought it would last until next year."
"Don't look at the Kharkov offensive battle initiated by our army, which ended in failure." Sokov told Khokhlov: "But after the Stalingrad defense battle, the German army lost a lot of elite troops, and the newly added troops would have to greatly reduce their combat effectiveness. With their current strength, it is obviously impossible to engage in a battle with us that lasts for more than half a year. Therefore, the battle can be ended in one or two months at most, and it will end with the victory of our army."
"From the current situation," Khokhlov seemed to be talking to himself, or to Sokov: "After the battle, both the enemy and us will be exhausted, and we may not be able to launch a new battle for a long time."
"Comrade Colonel, if you think so, you're wrong." Sokov told Khokhlov: "Once our army wins a decisive victory in the direction of Kursk, we can gain the initiative on the battlefield. It turns out that when and where to launch an attack is decided by the Germans, but as long as we achieve this victory, we will take the initiative on the battlefield. When and where to launch an attack, we will decide."
Considering that the number of new rockets and bazooka equipped by the 182nd Division was limited, and once the fire was exchanged with the German army, it might not necessarily have any advantage, so Sokov ordered Khokhlov to answer the headquarters' phone number. Hearing Sameko's voice came from the receiver, Sokov immediately ordered him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have an urgent task now, and I will hand it over to you to complete."
"Please say it, Comrade Commander." Sameko said respectfully: "I firmly obey your orders."
"The enemy has broken through the direction of friendly forces in the Oboyan area and is heading towards Shumakovo, which is stationed in our headquarters." Sokov said to Sameko on the phone: "Immediately gather the new rockets from the divisions that have not yet set off, and send them to Shumakovo as soon as possible by truck."
"Comrade Commander," Sameko said with some embarrassment when he heard Sokov's order: "If we use trucks to transport rockets, it will affect the transportation of the troops."
"The role of a new car of rockets is at least more than a regiment." Sokov said toughly: "The troop transport matter can be temporarily put on, but after dawn tomorrow, I hope to see more new rockets appearing in the defense zone of the 182nd Division."
"I understand, comrade Commander." Sameko heard Sokov say so, and could only answer: "I will arrange for people to collect all the rockets and encounter the Shumakovo area as soon as possible."
After putting down the phone, Sameko couldn't help but complain: "Comrade Commander has assigned me a difficult task that has been completed. In a hurry, we have to collect all the rockets of each division. How could it be that easy?"
Lunev, who usually exists as a transparent person, heard Samek complaining and asked curiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened?"
"Comrade of the Military Commission," Sameko complained to Lunev: "Comrade Commander said that the German army had broken through the defense line in the direction of Oboyan and advanced towards Shumakovo, so he ordered me to collect all the new rockets from each division and transport them to the defense zone of the 182nd Division as soon as possible."
"So you are worried about this." After understanding the reason why Sameko was worried, Lunev smiled and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry, you give me the responsibility. I promise you that you can transport the collected rockets to the defense zone of the 182nd Division tomorrow."
Seeing that Lunev was so confident, Sameko felt that the other party must have methods he did not know and collected rockets urgently needed from the front line from each division. Since the other party took the initiative to solve his problems, Sameko no longer hesitated, but nodded and said to Lunev: "Okay, comrade of the military committee, I will leave it to you with full responsibility for the collection and transportation of new rockets."
Chapter completed!