While Sokov and Marantin were studying how to stick to the existing defensive areas, two marshals, two generals and two lieutenant generals in the headquarters of the Voronezh Front were studying how to launch a counterattack outside Prokholovka.
The first thing to speak was Lieutenant General Ivanov, the chief of staff, who pointed to the map and introduced the current situation to everyone: "We are going to fight back against the German army outside the city of Prokorovka, which is not an easy task.
First of all, in our original plan, the 5th Guards Tank Army of Rotmistrov and the 1st Tank Army of General Katukov, jointly launched a counterattack against the enemy. However, General Katukov's troops were entangled by the enemy in the battle and could not participate in tomorrow's counterattack. In other words, the 5th Guards Tank Army of can only complete the attack alone.
The problem we are facing now is that the original starting position of the offensive has been captured by the German army. The 2nd Tank Army, which was originally scheduled to play an important role, suffered heavy losses in the daytime battle, with less than 100 tanks left, and the position of the army was very scattered. It was impossible to regroup before tomorrow's counterattack began, so they could only serve as the task of covering the flanks of the 5th Army of the Guards Tanks, and not directly participate in the counterattack.
After consultation with Lieutenant General Rotmistrov, we finally decided to use tank 18th and 29th Army to attack the German flag guards and skeleton divisions from the front, and use guards tank 2nd Army to attack the German right wing. The guards mechanized 5th Army, which has 212 tanks, will serve as the general reserve, but when the war is unfavorable, they will be put into battle.
At the same time, General Rotemistrov's deputy, General Trufanov, deputy commander of the army, will lead a combat cluster of 100 tanks to the 69th Army on the left wing of our army to help them consolidate their existing defense lines."
After hearing this, Zhukov could only say "um" lightly, then turned his head and asked Huasilevsky: "Comrade Huasilevsky, what do you think of the latest combat plan of the Voronezh Front?"
"Comrade Marshal," replied Vasilevsky respectfully, "I think the plan is very good, and I will definitely crush the enemies gathered near Prokholovka."
"Two marshals," said Apanesenko, the deputy commander who has always had a low presence in the headquarters, and said: "The enemy has only four or five divisions in the Prokhorovka area, and they have been weakened to varying degrees. However, we have several armies and have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength. No matter how strong the enemy's combat power is, we cannot beat them one-on-one, but we can always win with two or even three divisions. Therefore, I think tomorrow's counterattack will definitely win."
"Comrade Deputy Commander," Vatujing fully realized the strength of the German army's combat effectiveness in the past few days. He thought to himself that if we had not spent several months to build a solid position and a complete defense system built by a whole front army, history might have happened again. Seeing Apanashenko's look disapproving, he was worried that the other party would make Zhukov and others unhappy, and hurriedly came out and said, "As commanders, we must consider the earliest situation when making plans. Although we have an advantage in both military strength and equipment, we must never take it lightly when counterattacking the enemy, otherwise we will suffer losses."
Apanesechenko's tone did make Zhukov very unhappy. You should know that from the outbreak of the war to the present, Apanesechenko has basically stayed in the Far East far away from the war. Perhaps his logistics work was done well, but it does not mean that he is an excellent commander, because he has no experience in fighting with the Germans at all. If his ideas affect the commanders below, he will definitely suffer a great loss when he takes the Germans lightly.
I wanted to say a few words, but when I saw Vatujing coming out to smooth things over, I turned my head to look at Rotmistrov, who was sitting next to me without saying a word: "Comrade General, I will play the lead role on the battlefield tomorrow, but your army, do you have anything to say?"
Hearing Zhukov's name, Rotmistrov quickly stood up and straightened his back and replied: "Comrade Marshal, my troops have prepared all the battles. They will teach the Germans a lesson that will be unforgettable for life in the battle tomorrow."
Zhukov was not interested in the clichés Rotemstrov said at all. He frowned and asked, "Comrade General, can you tell me how much time it takes to drive the enemy away from the city of Prokhorovka?"
There is a reason for Zhukov's question. During the day, the counterattack on the 252.2 highland and October farm on the north side of the highland did not drive the enemy away from the above-mentioned areas after huge casualties. Zhukov was worried that this would happen if the counterattack launched by the day tomorrow.
When Rotmistrov saw Zhukov's frown, he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. He stared at the map on the wall and thought seriously in his mind that there must be no problem in his troops to drive the enemy away from the city of Prokorovka, but it is hard to say how much time it takes.
Seeing that Rotamistrov was reluctant to speak, Zhukov was a little unhappy: "Comrade General, what's going on? Haven't you heard what I'm asking you?"
"Comrade Marshal," Rotmistrov replied quickly, "I'm thinking about it."
"Then tell me," Zhukov asked, "how long will it take?"
"I think it will take at least three to five days to completely defeat the enemy outside Prokholovka." Rotmistrov did not know what Zhukov was thinking, so he could only say carefully: "This is our limit."
"Behind the enemy, here, it's here." Zhukov got up and walked to the wall, picked up the explanation stick, knocked on the map twice, and said, "There are also Sokov's troops and a division of the 69th Army. It is precisely because of their existence that the enemy's 6th and 19th Armored Divisions did not appear outside the city of Prokholovka. If you need three to five days to drive the enemy away from the city of Prokholovka, what should you do?"
"Yes, General Rotmistrov." As soon as Vasilevsky and others finished speaking, they echoed: "While these two troops were restrained by the enemy, they were also trapped in the German encirclement, and their contact with the outside world was also interrupted. I think they may not be able to hold on for three to five days, so your attack speed must be faster."
Rotmstrov had long heard that Sokov and Zhukov and others had a friendship. At this moment, he heard Zhukov talking to Sokov in a different way, and realized that what he knew might not be a rumor. At least from the current situation, Zhukov was very worried about Sokov's safety. He reorganized the words in his mind and said cautiously: "Comrade Marshal, I think if the war goes well, we can drive the enemy away from outside Prokholovka within 48 hours."
"Driving the enemy away within 48 hours?" Zhukov hesitated for a moment about the deadline proposed by Rotmistrov, then nodded and replied readily: "Okay, then I will give you 48 hours, I hope you don't let me down."
"Don't worry, comrade Marshal." Rotmistrov promised, "We think we will drive the enemy away from the city within the prescribed time."
Chapter completed!