Rotmistrov received a call from Sokov. After browsing carefully, he frowned and said to the Chief of Staff: "Use a 122mm cannon to shoot directly at the enemy tanks from 800 to 1,000 meters. Chief of Staff, do you think General Sokov's method is effective?"
"Comrade Commander," the chief of staff replied cautiously: "The 122mm cannons equipped by our army can theoretically penetrate 140mm armor at a distance of 1,000 meters. The front armor of the German Tiger tank turret is 102mm and the side is 82mm; the leopard tank uses 80mm 55-degree tilt hardened armor, which has good anti-elastic performance. But if it is directly hit by our army's 122mm cannon, it can completely destroy the opponent's target."
Rotmistrov shook his head with a wry smile and said, "You know, artillery soldiers usually aim at a specific target, but a place. The shells focus on firepower coverage, not direct hitting. I think it is a fantasy to let the artillery use direct aiming and shooting to hit a target a thousand meters away."
Seeing that Rotmistrov was so unfavorable to Sokov's proposal, the Chief of Staff was about to continue persuading him, but the other party raised his hand to stop him: "Chief of Staff, you don't have to say anything. I think this Sokov is just like this. The suggestions he made to us are not applicable on the battlefield at all."
"Comrade Commander, what should we do?" asked the Chief of Staff.
"It's better to use the original tactics to speed up the open land." Rotmistrov reminded the Chief of Staff: "Tell those tank brigade commanders to increase the distance between tanks and use sparse formation attacks, so that the chance of being hit by enemy artillery fire will be greatly reduced."
After Sokov's telegram was sent out, Koida asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, do you think General Rotmistrov will adopt your opinion?"
"Comrade Colonel, use heavy artillery to shoot a specific target a thousand meters away, and the hit rate is outrageously low." Sokov smiled faintly and replied: "I think Rotmistrov will definitely not adopt my suggestion, and will still order the troops to pass through the open land regardless of casualties."
Seeing that Sokov had long guessed that Rotmistrov would not adopt his opinion, but he still sent such a telegram. Koida asked in confusion: "Since you know that General Rotmistrov will not adopt your opinion, why do you still make such suggestions to him?"
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov explained: "With heavy artillery direct aiming and shooting enemy tanks, the hit rate is indeed not high, but it can pose a threat to German tanks, forcing them to change positions. In this way, when our tanks attack, the chance of being intercepted by enemy artillery fire will decrease."
"So that's how it is." Koida asked Sokov tentatively after figuring out what happened: "Comrade Commander, do you need to send another telegram to General Rotemistrov to explain the matter in detail?"
"No need." Sokov waved his hand and said, "How to attack the enemy outside Prokholovka is General Rotmistrov's business, so we don't have to meddle in other people's business. Our primary task at present is to defend the existing positions so that the German 6th and 19th Armored Divisions cannot rush to join the Flag Guard Division and the Skeleton Division. We must effectively and effectively cut off the connection between them so that the wounded in front of the enemy cannot transport the ammunition and fuel in the rear cannot transport the ammunition and fuel in the rear.
The German SSs were indeed elite, and a division had the ability to deal with our army. But as long as they cut off their logistics supplies, even if they could fight, when there was no fuel and ammunition, their tanks and cannons would become a pile of scrap iron, and they could only choose to discard or blow up."
The Soviet and German sides launched a large-scale tank battle outside the city of Prokorovka, and both sides fought crazy. The tank soldiers who escaped from the destroyed tanks did not flee to their own areas as quickly as before, but hid next to the wreckage of the tank and fought against the enemy with their carry-on weapons.
The battle outside Prokholovka made Manstein realize that if the Soviet attack could not be stopped, the offensive launched by Kursk's southern line would have the possibility of collapse. Therefore, he issued an order to the commanders of the 6th and 19th Armored Divisions, allowing them to break through the Soviet defense line as soon as possible, rush outside Prokholovka to join the troops there.
The combat effectiveness of the Sixth Panzer Division was not the strongest among the Germans, and the division commander died in a battle not long ago, which had a great impact on the morale of the troops. After receiving Manstein's attack order, the acting division commander immediately sent an armored battalion to cover two infantry battalions and launched a fierce attack on the position of the 188th Division.
If the area they attacked was defended by General Malankin's Guard Division, perhaps their offense could make some progress. But now what they have to face is to kill the enemy of their division commander, and the commander on the opposite side is still a role that makes many German commanders fearless, so they are a little restrained when fighting, and they cannot even exert half of their usual combat power.
On the contrary, the 19th Armored Division, which was fighting on their right wing, performed extremely eye-catching. The troops responsible for the attack were the 1st Battalion of the 27th Armored Regiment and the 2nd Battalion of the 117th Armored Grenadier Regiment. More than 20 tanks covered more than 500 soldiers and launched a fierce attack on the position of the Guard Division.
Perhaps because they learned that the main force had launched a counterattack outside Prokholovka City, the commanders and soldiers of the Malankin Division felt that victory was in sight, and they inevitably felt underestimating the enemy. Faced with the enemy's attack, they fought in vain. In less than half an hour of the battle, a position was about to be broken through by the German army.
When he learned that the position had been broken, Marantkin was frightened and sweated. Only then did he realize that what Sokov had reminded him was not alarmist, but heartfelt words. In order to save the situation, he quickly asked Trufanov for help, asking the other party to send a tank battalion to counterattack the breakthrough and eliminate the enemies there.
The German officers and soldiers who had just broken through the position were not yet gained a foothold, but were counterattacked by infantrymen with tanks. After more than ten minutes of fierce fighting, they were all driven out of the Soviet position.
When Malankin and Trufanov stood in the command post, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when they saw the German officers and soldiers who broke into the position and were driven out by the counterattacking troops. Trufanov said to Malankin: "Comrade Malankin, it seems that the enemy is determined to rush over and reinforce the enemy outside Prokhorovka. If this attack is repelled, they will soon launch a new attack. In order to prevent your defense from being broken through again, I think you need to adjust your deployment."
"Comrade Deputy Commander," said Malankin to Trufanov: "When we went to General Sokov's command, he once suggested to us that those tanks that had a fault and would be difficult to operate in a short period of time should be placed on the position as fixed turrets. At that time, I thought he was a little too much. The enemy could not break through our position yesterday. Could it be that today?
But it turns out that there is a problem with my judgment. The enemy's offensive today is even more crazy than yesterday. After yesterday's battle, my troops have experienced serious reductions in personnel. If they do not place fixed turrets on the position, the enemy will probably break through our position again."
"I understand, Comrade Malankin." When he returned from Sokov's temporary command, when Malankin proposed to use the faulty tanks as fixed turrets, Trufanov tried his best to oppose it, feeling that there was no need for this. Even if there was a problem with these tanks, they should be used in other directions. But the facts at this moment show that it is difficult for the guard division, which has been seriously weakened, to defend its position without the cover of the tanks. "I immediately let those faulty tanks be placed on the positions as fixed turrets."
…………
"Comrade Sokov?" Sokov's troops had just repelled the 6th Armored Division's two attacks when they received a call from Konev: "I am Konev, how is your situation there?"
"Report to the commander of the Front Army," Sokov quickly replied: "The enemy's 6th Armored Division launched two attacks on the defense of the 188th Division, both of which were repelled by us."
Knowing that Sokov's troops were still holding their positions, Konev felt much more at ease: "Comrade Sokov, General Rotmistrov's troops, are now fighting fiercely with the enemy outside Prokolovka City. According to the report he provided to me, it is possible to repel the enemy before dark. Therefore, I have made this call to you specifically, hoping that you can find a way to block the retreat of the defeated German army."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, please rest assured about this." Sokov said: "I have ordered the tank army to go out at 3 pm to cut off the retreat of the Flag Guard Division and the Skeleton Division, and be sure to wipe them out in the Prokholovka area."
"Are you really sure that?" Konev asked.
"Yes." Sokov replied confidently: "I am currently concentrating nearly two divisions of troops to hold the position of the 188th Division and block the path of the German 6th Armored Division. In addition, the tank army and two infantry divisions stationed on the Pschol River will enter the middle of the two defense zones at 3 pm to cut off the German retreat."
Konev knew that Sokov had many ideas, so he did not ask him for specific combat plans. Instead, he nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Sokov, since you have the confidence to block the enemy, I will believe you. If you have any needs, call me directly."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov wanted to deal with German tanks, and it would be best to dispatch the air force. It is said that during this period, the Soviet army had developed a bomb specifically to attack ground targets, so he asked tentatively: "I wonder if we can provide air support for us?"
He was very afraid that Konev would disagree. After all, most of the air force is still fighting with the Luftwaffe for air supremacy over the outside of Prokorovka. He may still feel embarrassed if he asked the other party to specifically draw some of his strength to support him.
Sokov's guess is correct. It is difficult for Konev to agree to provide air cover for his troops. Since the grassland front is a reserve force, the air force has relatively weak strength. Not to mention the small number of aircraft, the fuel and ammunition are also very limited. Each time it takes off the air combat, it can only provide air support to the troops in some areas. The most intense battle now is outside the city of Prokorovka, and the area where Sokov's troops are located no longer provides air support.
Hearing Konev's speechless for a long time, Sokov sighed in his heart and said, "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, it doesn't matter if the Air Force really cannot provide us with air support. We will still try our best to cut off the enemy's retreat."
After Sokov finished the call with Konev, he held the microphone and thought for a long time. He finally set up a formation to close the door and fight the dog. If his superiors cannot provide air cover for him, the enemy may break out from the defensive zone he hastily deployed, and the plan to encircle and annihilate the enemy will be lost.
After some thought, Sokov called the group army headquarters. When he heard Sameko's voice coming from the receiver, he asked straight to the point: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I want to ask you, how many new rockets do we have now?"
"There are about eight hundred more." Sameko quickly replied, "It was just sent by Colonel Yakov yesterday." He knew that Sokov suddenly asked about this matter for a reason, so he quickly asked, "Comrade Commander, why did you think of asking about this?"
"I just spoke to General Konev, and he told me that in the next battle, I'm afraid we won't be able to provide air support for us." Sokov felt the need to let Sameko understand everything, so he said to him: "So we can only rely on our own strength to block the defeated enemy."
Sameko obviously had anticipated this situation, so he asked Sokov calmly: "Comrade Commander, how do you plan to allocate these new rockets?"
"Leave 100 troops to the forces that hold the Pushur River, and send 100 to Colonel Koida's 188th Division." Sokov had long thought about how to allocate: "The remaining rockets will be handed over to the troops deploying defenses in the middle."
"Comrade Commander, isn't it a bit too many to give them six hundred rockets?" Sameko reminded Sokov: "You must know that the area they are sticking to will be attacked by the Germans, it is still an unknown number. Is it a bit too waste to give them so many rockets?"
Chapter completed!