Red Moscow

  Chapter 261 Fighting behind the enemy (7)

What Rokossovsky considers is how to hold on to Kursk and whether it should hold on. This is a later story. The current priority is to immediately report the news of the Istrian battalion's occupation of Kursk to the Supreme Court. The Commander himself reported.

Because the war in the south of Moscow is unfavorable, and the 6th Army of Paulus and the 4th Armored Army of Hoth are also rushing towards the Caucasus and Stalingrad, so Stalin is in his office, rushing to the new Chief of General Staff, Vasilie General Fowski was furious.

  Hearing the phone on the table ring, Stalin walked over, picked up the receiver, and asked, "What's the matter?"

   Boskrebyshev's dry voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Stalin, General Rokossovsky called from the front line, and he said that there is an urgent situation to report to you."

   Have an emergency to report to yourself? Hearing what Poskrebyshev said, Stalin guessed in his heart that Rokossovsky was going to report it to him. It must be some bad news. Killed in action, leading to a seemingly promising attack that ended in failure. So he ordered coldly: "Put in his phone."

  As soon as the phone call was made, Stalin suppressed the anger in his heart, raised his voice and asked: "Comrade Rokossovsky, you call me at this time, do you have any bad news for me?"

After a moment of hesitation, Rokossovsky said, "Comrade Stalin, I am calling you because I have good news to tell you. We have successfully occupied Kursk. .”

Stalin's thoughts were obviously still stuck in the fact that all the fronts of the Soviet army were not going well, so when he heard what Rokossovsky said, he said without hesitation: "Comrade Rokossovsky, the attack you launched in the direction of Voronezh Offensive, no decent progress. Just captured a little Kursk, what is there to show me?"

  Wasilevsky, who was standing aside, heard Stalin mention Kursk in a disdainful tone, couldn't help but exclaimed, and then rushed to the big map hanging on the wall. As the chief of staff of the Red Army, Vasilevsky understood the importance of Kursk better than anyone else. Once the Soviet army occupied this place, it would be equivalent to wedged into the German defense zone and established a salient that could be used for attack.

  Seeing Vasilevsky's performance in such a gaffe, Stalin covered the microphone with his hand and asked him displeasedly: "Comrade Vasilevsky, what is it that made you lose your composure?"

"Comrade Stalin, Kursk, Kursk!" Vasilevsky's voice changed with excitement and emphasized: "Rokossovsky's troops captured Kursk. This is a remarkable victory. It is equal to Let us establish a salient in the existing German defense line, and our army will be able to use this as a starting position in the future to attack the depth of the German defense."

   Stalin was well aware of the importance of Kursk, but just because he was absent-minded, he did not connect the place name mentioned by Rokossovsky with such an important strategic point. Hearing what Vasilevsky said at this moment, he quickly let go of his hand covering the microphone, and asked Rokossovsky in a slow tone: "Comrade Rokossovsky, what did you just say, your troops occupied Kursk?"

"That's right, Comrade Stalin." When Rokossovsky heard Stalin's tone become so peaceful, he couldn't help secretly heaving a sigh of relief. He felt that his decision to report the victory news to Stalin was very correct. . After taking a deep breath, he continued: "Major Sokov sent me a telegram saying that the Istria Battalion under his command has successfully captured Kursk."

"Great, this is really a great victory. Please represent me and convey my thanks to Major Sokov." After saying these words, Stalin suddenly remembered something, and then asked: "Is he Acting commander of the 31st Guards Division? How did you become the commander of the Istria Battalion again?"

"Comrade Stalin, the situation is like this." When Rokossovsky heard Stalin ask Sokov, he felt the need to explain to him, otherwise a division commander suddenly became a battalion commander, and he would still feel The other party made some mistakes and was demoted: "When I was transferred from the 16th Army to the Bryansk Front Army, I brought several commanders with me, one of whom was Major Sokov. Since there is no suitable position for him , so I let him continue to command the Istrian Battalion."

After listening to Rokossovsky's explanation, Stalin smiled and said, "So that's the case. I thought he made some mistake and was demoted by you." After a moment's pause, he spoke into the microphone again. Said, "Comrade Rokossovsky, even if I don't mention the importance of Kursk, you should understand it in your heart. It is impossible to defend Kursk with the strength of the Istria battalion alone. You Send troops immediately to reinforce them and strengthen the defense there. Understand?"

   "Understood, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky quickly replied, "I will immediately send reinforcements to Major Sokov."

After putting down the phone, Stalin walked to the map, stared at the location of Kursk for a while, and said to Vasilevsky: "Rokossovsky's troops are limited, if they are to hold Kursk , It is bound to weaken the strength in other directions. Comrade Vasilevsky immediately mobilized two infantry divisions and three tank brigades from the reserve team of the base camp, as well as a sufficient number of artillery, and rushed to Kursk at the fastest speed .”

   At this moment, Sokov, who was staying in Kursk, did not realize the importance of this city. He still wanted to get a ticket here and leave. So he summoned the company commanders and discussed with them how to evacuate the German warehouses in the city.

When Sokov put forward this proposal, Belkin said with a bitter smile: "Major, although there are more than 400 people in the whole battalion, but excluding the guard troops and the wounded, we have less than 100 soldiers who can carry supplies. It will take at least a few months to move so many supplies, and it is impossible for the Germans to give us such a long time."

"Yes, Comrade Battalion Commander." As soon as Belkin finished speaking, Vasily added: "It is a warehouse that I personally led to occupy, and the supplies in it are enough to equip two divisions. Note that I am talking about the German division. , not our division. And there are twenty tanks, and a considerable number of various types of artillery, if we have enough soldiers, we can form an infantry army in the shortest possible time."

"There are plenty of soldiers, but it is difficult to form combat power in a short period of time." Vasily's words reminded Sokov of an important thing, and he quickly said to the first company commander Vanya: "Vanni Captain Ya, the captured German garrison commander Kempka confessed that in the forest to the south of the city, nearly a thousand prisoners of our army were held in a camp. They were either captured in the Battle of Kharkov or in the You were captured in the recent battle. There are only more than forty guards in the prisoner-of-war camp. You immediately lead a company to the prisoner-of-war camp. If you can successfully rescue them, our camp will be able to get enough soldiers to replenish."

   "Yes, Comrade Battalion Commander." Hearing Sokov's order, Vanya immediately stood up and replied, "I will lead the troops to the prisoner-of-war camp in the south of the city right now, and try to occupy the prisoner-of-war camp before dawn."

After Vanya left, Sokov continued to arrange the transportation of materials: "I think we can't do it alone if we want to remove all the materials for so many years. We also need to mobilize all the residents in the city. Give them the food that the Germans have stockpiled in the warehouses, so that they can help us empty the German warehouses."

"This is a good idea." Belkin immediately agreed with Sokov's statement: "It's too late now, because of the curfew policy of the German army, they still don't know that our army has occupied the city. As soon as the sun rises, I will immediately arrange political workers to go door-to-door to mobilize residents and ask them to help us."

As soon as Sokov and his commanders reached a resolution to evacuate Kursk, Second Lieutenant Maxim hurried in from the outside and handed a telegram to Sokov: "Major, this is the Army Group Command call."

  Sokov took the telegram in Maxim's hand with a puzzled face, and browsed it with his head down. After seeing the telegram, he frowned and thought for a moment, and then said to Belgin and the other two company commanders: "A telegram came from the Army Group Command, saying that the 7th Tank Corps under the command of Major General Rotmistrov will soon be dispatched." , come to reinforce us, and hope that we will hold Kursk at all costs."

   "Major Sokov," Belgin asked tentatively after Sokov finished speaking, "So, we don't have to empty the German warehouse anymore?"

"No need to move." Thinking that Rotmistrov, who played a pivotal role in the Battle of Kursk a year later, would lead his troops to the city, Sokov gave up the idea of ​​moving away the German supplies and started He gave orders: "Comrade Belkin, after dawn, first organize people to distribute food to the residents in the city, and then try to mobilize the workers in the factory to help us strengthen the city's defenses so that we can hold out until the reinforcements arrive."

   "Mobilize the workers in the factory?" Belgin asked with some hesitation: "Major Sokov, can they do it?"

   "No problem," Sokov said confidently: "There should be many workers in the factory who have participated in the militia. As long as they are mobilized, our defense force will be strengthened."

  (end of this chapter)